Song of Temarocia
by Wolf General
Summary: Jason Valerio was just an ordinary duelist and slacker living in New York, until an encounter with a Shadow Duelist drops him in the middle of a living RPG, a world called Temarocia.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the concept of the Yugioh card game, based off of Duel Monsters.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 1: Duelist of Five Elements

Through the darkness he fell, his blue-black hair matted to his head by the blood coming from the gash inflicted upon it. Eyes closed, he looked nearly dead. A series of piercing wounds were inflicted to his chest, none of them in vital areas but altogether making a very painful looking experience.

"_Trapped within the darkness, I summon forth the best monster for this dire situation. Please, come to my aid."_

("What happened?") His eyes forced themselves open slowly, and one out of focus brown orb moved up just enough to look at the demolished Duel Disk attached to his arm. ("I remember it now…I was running late…")

------------------------

_Just that morning…_

-------------------------

"I'm late!" Jason shouted loudly, his backpack dangling over his shoulders as he barreled down the streets of New York, through the neighborhoods he knew all too well. "Outta my way!"

Part of him knew it was his own fault. He shouldn't have stayed awake for so long last night. Also, he shouldn't have spent so long debating over what cards to put into his deck. Most of all though, he probably should have set his alarm. None of that mattered right now though. ("I've got a tournament I need to get to, and I've got to get there fast!")

His motor scooter bounced off an uneven section of pavement and he was launched a couple of feet into the air, managing to land atop the small vehicle and continue on his way without having to do anything more than adjust his seat. ("I know I should be careful, but there's no time to waste!")

The second uneven section of pavement he hit wasn't quite so easy to get around though, and suddenly he was hurtling forwards and crashing into a pile of garbage bags. ("Or I could practice safety and at least wear my helmet, I guess.")

---------------------------

After actually taking the time to put his helmet on, Jason was quick to get on his way once again. Other than waving to some of the market sellers he had done odd jobs for at one point or another in the past, the guy was already running late and didn't have time to stop for anything. ("I'd better take a shortcut!")

Skidding around a corner, he rushed down the network of alleys that connected some of the buildings. About four streets down though, he was forced to come to a stop in front of a road block he didn't seem to be able to get around. It was a giant orb of pulsing black and purple energy that completely covered the alleyway in front of him. "Whoa…"

Grabbing a nearby stick, the young man reached out with it and poked the edge of the orb, wincing as the wooden object snapped almost instantly when a bolt of black lightning hit it. "Alright then, I guess I go around." Turning his scooter around, Jason was about to go back the way he had come from when the crackling sound of the orb suddenly died down.

"And so," A rather ghastly voice said, "You lose. Suffer the teeth of the Darkness Realm."

An electric tingle ran up his spine as he heard a scream of pain. Looking behind him, despite his better judgment, Jason was immediately assaulted by the sight of what seemed to be living shadow engulfing an already partially-destroyed man and tear him to bloodless shreds, the pieces fading into the darkness before the surreal and terrifying scene ended without a trace of the victim remaining. ("I've got to run…")

There was a loud click noise and Jason's motor scooter started sputtering as the engine decided right at that moment to stall. "Of all the times to break down, you choose now?" He shouted at the inanimate object, his attention not even directed towards the one who had been speaking before.

"I'm afraid you won't be leaving, kid." The speaker was a tall gaunt man wearing a long black overcoat, his eyes hidden behind a pair of black goggles and his long duster covering his bald head completely. "After what you just saw I've got no choice but to make sure that all witnesses are taken care of."

The gaunt man lifted one arm to reveal the black-colored Duel Disk there, the device activating once more. "My name is Xeno, and unfortunately for you I am a Shadow Duelist. The man you just witnessed getting torn to shreds was my target, and as such you must join him now. Prepare yourself." The shadows of the alleyway extended around them both, creating a pulsing sphere of darkness and purple energy intertwined.

"A Shadow Duelist?" The young man placed a finger under his chin and looked thoughtful for a few moments before he turned and ran, deciding that his life was far more important than his motor scooter. "Sorry, I don't have time to play!"

The stretched darkness energy of the orb shot out and struck him right in the chest, sending him crashing to his back. Xeno laughed and pointed up at the now-black sky. "There is no escape. This is a Darkness Game, and you, boy, have no choice but to battle me here. The game is Duel Monsters…do you have a deck, boy?"

"The name's not boy!" The young man rolled to his feet rather quickly and grabbed his backpack from where it had landed on the ground next to him. "I'm Jason Valerio, and it just so happens that I was actually on my way to a Duel Monsters tournament before my luck apparently turned sour."

Xeno snorted derisively. "If you're a duelist then show your pride and your deck to one such as myself. The elite ranks of Shadow Duelists are the best kinds of opponents for young duelists such as you, no?"

"You've got a really glass is half full kind of attitude, though I'm not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing yet." Removing his duel disk from his bag, Jason strapped it on and pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. "Alright then, Xeno, I guess if I'm going to test out my deck against someone it might as well be somebody like you!"

"Duel!" They both shouted at the same time, drawing their opening hands of five cards as their life points appeared projected over their heads.

Xeno- 8000

Jason- 8000

"It's my turn first, draw!" Xeno added the drawn card to his hand and his lips curled up into a sneer. "Jason Valerio, an interesting name. The surname is Italian, correct?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Running a hand through his short black hair, Jason tried his hardest not to think about what this duel really was. ("Don't think about it like it's a Darkness Game. Treat it like it's a normal duel…except if you lose you die.") He silently ground his palm against his forehead. ("No, don't freak out! You just have to win the duel right? That's doable, right?")

Xeno shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a card from his hand. "I was just attempting to make small talk. You seem a bit tense…but then again I suppose that's to be expected when you're gambling with your life."

The selected card was tossed onto his duel disk and a face-down card appeared on his field. "I set one monster in defense mode." Another card appeared behind the monster. "I also set one card face-down and end my turn."

Jason placed his index and middle fingers on top of his deck and removed a card from it, adding the piece of cardboard to his hand before selecting a different one. ("It's time to see if the strategy I worked so hard to refine can succeed when put under fire.") "I summon Solar Flare Dragon in attack mode!" A pillar of fire erupted from his field and formed into a hissing serpent made of heat. (1500/1000)

His field magic card slot opened and he tossed a card down into it. "I also activate the field magic card Five Element Field!" The ground around his Solar Flare Dragon started to glow red. "Solar Flare Dragon, attack his set monster now! Flame Blast!" The snake creature exhaled a torrent of fire that enveloped the set monster.

"Now you've done it." Xeno snapped his hand up. "Spear Burst's reverse special ability activates now!"

"Special ability?" Jason's eyes widened as a sharpened shaft of bone exploded out of the flames and stabbed into his chest roughly before disappearing into thin air. "Ugh!" Dropping to one knee, he clutched at the bloody wound that had just been created in his flesh. ("So the rumors are true, anything that happens in a Darkness Game really happens to the duelist.")

"Spear Burst, when activated, deals you 500 points of damage." Xeno smirked as another bony spear exploded out of the smoke created by the Solar Flare Dragon's attack and stabbed into his chest. "Also, I may decrease my life points by 500 to draw one card."

Xeno- 7500

Jason- 7500

Struggling to get back on his feet, Jason winced and his chest muscles spasmed in pain. "That may be true, but the effect of Five Element Field activates now. When a fire attribute monster destroys a monster as a result of battle you take 300 points of damage."

Xeno laughed as an explosion of heat erupted underneath him. "Perhaps, but as you've noticed I have the power to easily resist the damage created by the Darkness Realm."

Xeno- 7200

Jason- 7500

"And just to remind you how hopeless this battle is, I open my face-down card." Xeno's set card flipped up and a face-down monster appeared on his field. "Reverse Revenge activates when a flip effect monster is destroyed as a result of battle. That monster is special summoned back to my field in face-down defense mode."

Finally managing to get back to a standing position, Jason slid a card into his duel disk. "I place one card face-down and end my turn." His Solar Flare Dragon hissed and started to glow brightly in front of Xeno. "At the end phase of my turn that Solar Flare Dragon is face-up in play my opponent takes 500 points of damage!"

Xeno- 6700

Jason- 7500

Brushing some smoke from his coat, the man's goggled eyes reflected the image of the injured young man within their endless depths. "This duel is a Darkness Game, so I'll praise you for trying to fight against me despite your lack of power." He drew and his sneer returned. "However, it is all for nothing. I flip summon Spear Burst!" A ball of white spiked bones appeared on his field. (400/500) "And then we both take 500 points of damage!"

His eyes widened in pain as another spear was launched out, puncturing a different section of his chest. Coughing up a few drops of blood, he tried to keep his balance as the piercing weapon disappeared. ("I won't fall…not yet. My deck has gotten too much work put into it for me to just roll over and die. And besides, I'm sure the others are still waiting for me patiently at the tournament.")

Xeno- 6200

Jason- 7000

Xeno drew another card from his deck and added it to his hand before motioning to his Spear Burst, which disappeared as it was sucked into the ground. "I offer my Spear Burst to summon Spear Striker!" A four-legged beast with numerous white bone spikes sticking out of its body appeared on his field. (1300/1500)

Trying his best to put on a strong bluff, Jason smiled and wiped some blood that was dribbling down the side of his mouth onto his shirt sleeve. "A monster with 1300 attack points isn't going to be strong enough to beat my Solar Flare Dragon."

The Shadow Duelist held up another card, this one pinched between two of his fingers and his thumb. "I equip my monster with Revive Spike." His Spear Striker started glowing. "Battle!"

Jason's smile faded as the beast fired a pair of spears, one stabbing through his Solar Flare Dragon and one stabbing through his chest. "That's…" His face twisted in pain and he dropped to one knee, reflexively grabbing the spear right before it faded away.

"When Spear Striker attacks an opponent's monster its attack rises by 700 points." (2000/1500) Xeno pointed to another section of his field. "And when the monster equipped with Revive Spike destroys a monster as a result of battle then I special summon one Spear monster from my graveyard." His Spear Burst appeared in play. (400/500) "Spear Burst, attack him directly!"

Jason screamed as another spear stabbed into his gut, legs giving out on him as he collapsed to his knees.

Xeno- 6200

Jason- 6100

"When Spear Burst attacks your life points directly, it switches to face-down defense mode." Xeno's smaller monster disappeared, replaced by a set monster card. "Also I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Reverse card…" One hand over his stomach, Jason pointed at his set card. "Open!" The card flipped up and his Solar Flare Dragon reappeared. "I activate the continuous trap card Jewel of Five Elements. This card comes into play with five counters, and during the end phase of a turn where a monster of mine has been destroyed as a result of battle I can return it to play." (Counters: 4/Water/Wind/Earth/Light)

Xeno tilted his head to look at the holographic display on the card. "Why is it listing those attributes?"

"Jewel of Five Elements can only restore one attribute of monster once, with the only attribute excluded being dark. Now I can only revive an earth, wind, water, and light monster before it is destroyed." Jason stood up, his strength having returned. ("The damage I've suffered is really bad, but my life is on the line. I can't give up.")

"Your futile struggle won't amount to anything." Xeno shrugged his shoulders. "However, you're welcome to try as hard as you wish. I will commend you that most would have given up because of the damage to their body."

Eyes narrowed, the young man drew and added the card to his hand. "I activate the magic card Treasure of Five Elements. By discarding one monster from my hand that is the same attribute as a monster on my field I can draw one card." The card he held up was a Rigorous Reaper, which he slid into his graveyard before drawing a card from his deck and holding it up.

"If the card I draw is a monster that is a different attribute than the one I have in play, I draw one more card. I may repeat this effect two times at maximum, and cannot draw an additional card if the second card is a monster that is the same attribute as the first drawn monster." The card was Goblin Elite Force, an earth attribute monster. "I draw again." It was the wind attribute Spear Dragon. "And one more time." The final drawn card was added to his hand without showing it, since he couldn't use the effect of Treasure of Five Elements again.

Xeno chuckled and crossed his arms across his chest. "So now you've got a monster strong enough to beat my Spear Striker. Is it in your best interest to attack though?"

"Yeah, in this case it is." Doing his best to ignore the pain for now, Jason slammed a card onto his disk and a group of armored goblins appeared on his field. "I summon Goblin Elite Force in attack mode." (2200/1500) "Attack Spear Striker!"

Xeno's lips curled upwards and his set card flipped up. "Now you've done it. You activated my Spiked Defense continuous trap card. Whenever you attack a Spear monster on my field you lose 300 life points." He barely flinched as the goblins charged across the field and impaled his beast, shattering it at the same time as a spray of needle shot out of his trap and stabbed Jason repeatedly.

Xeno- 6000

Jason- 5800

"I've got no choice…" Jason, body shaking with pain, weakly pointed at the set monster. "Solar Flare Dragon, attack now!" Then he screamed as the face-down Spear Burst was attacked and destroyed, shooting another bony spear that pierced his arm roughly. ("I can't take much more…") His screaming intensified as Spiked Defense opened fire on him.

Xeno- 5500

Jason- 5000

Xeno drew a card from his deck. "Is that all?"

"Not yet!" Jason shouted, inwardly wincing as some blood shot from his mouth and landed on the ground between the two of them. "Five Elements Field activates now!"

Xeno- 5200

Jason- 5000

Then he pointed at his field. "At the end of my battle phase Goblin Elite Force switches to defense mode." The group of armored goblins all dropped down to their knees. "I also set two cards face-down and end my turn with the effect of Solar Flare Dragon."

Xeno- 4700

Jason- 5000

"Draw." Xeno added the card to his hand and shook his head sadly. "It's a shame that you probably think you can win this duel…when the honest truth is I'm holding back." His wrist rolled just enough so he could look at his wristwatch. "Hmm, I don't have the time to play around anymore. After all, I'm a busy man."

Jason shuddered as a black aura suddenly came to life around Xeno's body. ("What is this feeling coming off of him?") It was like he was standing in the path of an oncoming train.

"From my hand I activate the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon, blowing away one of your two set cards!" Xeno sneered as a blast of wind revealed Jason's set Negate Attack before shattering it. "That's a shame; it seems I got the one thing that might have saved you from some pain this turn."

Blood and sweat sliding down his face, the young man could feel that train about to run him down. ("I can't beat an opponent like this guy. This is a professional Shadow Duelist and I'm just a normal duelist from the Bronx…I can't win!")

"That's a nice look of despair on your face…you carry it well." Xeno threw a card onto his disk and a snarling humanoid monster covered with bony protrusions appeared on his field. "I summon Spear Stabber in attack mode." (1400/1600) "And then I activate its effect. By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one attack mode monster in play and increase this monster's attack by 800 points." He pointed at the Solar Flare Dragon. "Disappear!"

Jason braced himself as his fire monster shattered.

(2200/1600) "And now my Spear Stabber destroys your Goblin Elite Force!" Xeno lifted one finger to point at the crouching goblins, which were promptly torn apart. "When Spear Stabber destroys a defense mode monster as a result of battle, you take 400 points of damage. Also, when Spear Stabber battles with a defense mode monster and its attack is higher than the opposing monster's defense, the difference is dealt to you in battle damage."

Jason coughed up another spray of blood as he was pin-cushioned by the spiked monster of his opponent. ("I…can't win…") Dropping to his knees, his back bent backwards as he felt his consciousness slipping away.

Xeno- 4700

Jason- 3900

"End turn." Xeno smirked as the Goblin Elite Force returned to play. (Counter: 3/Water/Wind/Light) "Ah yes, your Jewel trap card is still in play. It's not like it matters though." He glanced at his watch again. "If you bow to me and beg for a quick death then I can give you such a thing…"

"Beg?" Arms trembling, Jason slowly stumbled to his feet. "Guess what, scarecrow? I'm not bowing to you. I can admit I'm in a pinch and that my chances of winning this duel are close to nothing…"

He smiled, knees quivering as he forced himself to stand. "But bowing to you is something I won't do. I don't bow to anyone's will except my own…sorry, it's just a little stipulation I have…"

"That's fine." Xeno sneered. "Take your turn then, boy."

"The name isn't boy," He grabbed the top card of his deck. "It's Jason!" He drew and glanced at the card before throwing a different one onto his disk. "I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode!" A pointy-nosed blue dragon appeared in play on his field. (1900/0) "And then I play the magic card Contrasting Elements! This card can only be activated if I have a light and dark, earth and wind, or fire and water monster combo in play. The attack of both monsters rises by 1000 points for the turn!" (2900/0) (3200/1500)

Xeno stepped back. "Hmm, perhaps you're a bit better than I thought, boy."

Jason's right eye twitched and he pointed at the Spear Stabber. "You know, the more you call me boy the more I realize I really don't want to lose to you! Take this, go Spear Dragon!" His dragon opened its beak and released a piercing blast of green light that stabbed into the Spear Stabber and shattered.

"You triggered Spiked Defense." Xeno laughed as Jason was pierced again by another spray of needles. "If you keep this up, your body won't even make it to the end of this duel before you die."

Xeno- 4000

Jason- 3600

Blood dripping down his legs, Jason couldn't argue. ("I'm going to die here, but I'll take you with me!") "I activate the effect of Five Elements Field! When a wind attribute monster on my field destroys a monster on your field as a result of battle, one magic or trap card that is face-up on your field is destroyed!" A swirling blast of wind hit the Spiked Defense card and it exploded.

Spear Dragon folded its wings around itself. "When Spear Dragon's attack completes it goes to defense mode! Goblin Elite Force, attack his life points directly!" Jason smiled weakly as his monsters roared forward and pummeled the Shadow Duelist mercilessly before jogging back to his field and switching to defense mode. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

Xeno- 800

Jason- 3600

Xeno drew, and after looking at the card emotionlessly he bowed slightly to the young man. "As much fun as this has been, and as strange as it has been to observe your very peculiar deck in action, I must end this duel now. From my hand I activate the magic card Blood Spike. By removing one Spear named monster from my graveyard I can deal you 1000 points of damage and gain 500 life points."

Jason threw up one arm just in time to block another bone spear, this one stabbing straight through the bone of his blocking arm and then through the connecting shoulder before it faded. He barely had the strength remaining to scream though, so all he could do was suck in his breath and try to ignore the warmth of his blood draining out of his body.

Xeno- 1300

Jason- 2600

"I then discard one card from my hand to activate the equipment magic card Hell Circulation." Xeno's field erupted into a forest of white bone spears. "This card lets me select one removed from play demon type monster and special summon it, equipping it with this card. The equipped monster can also attack through defense, and when it destroys a monster as a result of battle that monster's controller loses life points equal to the destroyed monster's attack power."

The forest of bony spears rose into the air, revealing that it was actually part of the massive tortoise-like creature which had been summoned. "This is my Spear King Tortoise, a deadly creature that has the ability to be unaffected by trap cards." (2500/3000)

"That's pretty scary," Jason admitted, trying to keep himself from showing it through his already badly scratched and cut face.

"Indeed, and without your traps you are as good as dead!" Xeno pointed at the Spear Dragon. "Spear King Tortoise, crush the boy and bring my victory! With this last attack, it ends!"

"At this time," Jason pointed at his Goblin Elite Force. "The effect of Five Elements Field activates now! When you attack I may redirect the attack to an earth attribute monster on my field! If I do this that monster's attack becomes zero for the turn!" (0/1500) Then he disappeared as his monster was struck by the charging giant Tortoise.

Xeno- 1300

Jason- 1600

Arms at his sides, Xeno frowned at the sudden turn of events. "So my killing attack was avoided? Very well, I'll end my turn there."

The dust created by the attacking monster cleared to reveal Jason, who was barely standing now. ("I survived for one more turn, but that doesn't matter here…") He looked directly at the Shadow Duelist. "I hope you didn't have any important appointments, because you won't be making them."

"Why would that be?" Xeno snickered. "Do you intend to survive for a bit longer?"

"No, I intend to die here…but I'm taking you with me!" Jason drew and one of his two set cards flipped up. "I activate the trap card Spirit of Solitude. From my graveyard two non-clashing attribute monsters will be special summoned." His Solar Flare Dragon and Goblin Elite Force appeared in play in defense mode. (1500/1000) (2200/1500) "They cannot attack or be sacrificed, so you don't have to worry about them. Then again, they're not the real threat…"

"If that's the case, what is the real threat?" Xeno motioned to the three monsters in play. "Your Solar Flare Dragon could have killed me with its effect, had you the ability to buy yourself two more turns. However thanks to my life gain effect you cannot defeat me that way."

"I don't intend to beat you in such a boring way." Jason pointed at his Jewel of the Five Elements. "I send one magic or trap card in play to my graveyard to special summon the water attribute Luminous Ocean Dragon!" A pillar of golden water rose from his field, forming into a hissing golden and translucent dragon. (2200/1800) "This monster counts as both a light and a water attribute monster, and therefore I've got all I need in play."

"You have nothing." Xeno thumbed at his monster. "If your set card is a trap then there's no way you can possibly affect my Tortoise with it!"

"I pay 1000 life points." Jason watched his life point counter tick down rapidly. "And then I activate the trap card Five Point Oblivion." His set card flipped up. "This card can only be activated when I've got an earth, wind, water, fire, and light attribute monster in play."

Xeno- 1300

Jason- 600

Xeno stepped back just a little bit more as the air around them both started to grow hazy. "What does your trap card do?"

Eyes closed, Jason smiled sadly as he suddenly realized that there was no way to tell his friends that he wasn't going to be able to join them. ("I'm sure that if either Rick or King were here, they'd give me some kind of smart-aleck comment about how I'm just trying to act cool. Or if Kim was here she'd call me an idiot…") "It seems that this is where I get to die…which really sucks. Oh well, I guess I get to go out like a hero. Five Point Oblivion allows me to do one of two things. Either I can destroy all cards on your field…or I can simply choose to end the duel by dealing myself any amount of damage and dealing you double that amount…either way is overkill…"

Xeno gasped and stepped back once more. "You're insane…you wouldn't…"

"Sorry, Shadow Duelist Xeno…" Jason lifted up one hand and smiled calmly, his regret gone. "I guess in the end I had what it takes, as did this deck. Not that it matters anymore…because I'm choosing infinite damage to myself to deal you just as much." Five points of light appeared around him, one green, one blue, one red, one yellow, and one golden. A calm wind started to uplift around him, blowing his hair up slightly and bathing them both in a powerful multi-colored light. "I hope that the explosion doesn't damage any of the surrounding buildings too much…"

"You can't seriously be planning on killing yourself just to defeat me, can you?" Xeno realized as the image of Jason's calmly smiling and bloodied face reflected in his goggles showed that the young man was ready to suicide. "You're out of your mind! Nothing will come from this except…"

"Except that the overwhelming damage from the trap will kill you without any doubt." Jason closed his eyes. "Five Point Oblivion, destroy it all!" Then everything disappeared within a burning torrent of heated light.

------------------------

Jason's eyes came into focus, and he somehow managed to move his head and look around the void that he was falling through. ("I guess I didn't win the duel, but then again I'm guessing that Xeno didn't win either. It wasn't exactly how I wanted to end my life…") He looked down at his badly damaged body. "Oh well…let it end however it wants to end…right?"

"_Something's actually coming through it?"_

Jason's nearly weightless fall into the depths suddenly ended as he crashed headfirst into a hardwood floor, the impact rattling his brain a little bit. "Ow!"

The last thing he remembered before his vision faded away was the out of focus image of someone running towards him rather rapidly. ("I guess the explosion hurled me pretty far into the air then…I gotta be sure to pay for the poor fella's roof, if I survive…") Then his wounds proved to be too much for him, and he passed out.

_To be continued…_


	2. A Bizarre Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own the game of Duel Monsters, but I do own the world of Temarocia.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 2: A Bizarre Encounter

"_Will he survive? Those wounds were rather severe…"_

Jason winced and tried to open his eyes, but it was impossible. He was in too much pain to even attempt such a thing. ("Where am I? Is this a hospital?")

"_Back up a little bit Flair, this is a very delicate test of my healing skills and since that is only my secondary I do not think that it would be wise for you to distract me."_

After a few more moments of trying to open his eyes, Jason gave up and passed out once more.

--------------------------------

"There, his wounds are healed." Someone nearby said.

Jason's eyes slowly opened, blinded by the bright light of the sun which was right in his face. ("What's going on? Why am I outside?") "What kind of hospital is this?"

"A hospital?" A female voice asked quietly. "What is that?"

"I can only assume he is talking about some place where those who are injured would be taken for healing, at least if we take his body's condition into account." The other speaker was a rather curt male voice, calm and collected.

Jason tilted his head over and blinked in surprise at the two which had been speaking. ("Okay…this is kinda weird.")

The girl was wearing long flowing black and pink robes, her blond hair done up in a ponytail. Sitting at her side was a wooden staff with a green jewel on top of it. "Good morning, you've been asleep for a few days now."

"Considering how badly damaged he was, I'm sure that how long he slept is the least of his worries." The guy was wearing a long black getup that looked like it was some kind of weird bathrobe, his long black hair hanging past his shoulders. At his side was a sheathed curved sword…Jason was pretty sure they were called a katana.

"Where am I?" Sitting up, the black-haired boy patted himself down a couple of times and was amazed to find that all of the wounds he had suffered were gone. "Wow, what did you do to me?"

The blond-haired girl rubbed an index finger under her nose and smirked. "Heh, it was easy for one such as myself to heal such minor wounds…"

The black-haired man shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Ah yes, of course, it took no effort at all…except for the effort you said it was going to take to accomplish this healing effort, correct?" When a blush rolled across the girl's cheeks he sighed and stood up from his tree stump seat, brushing his robes free of dust. "Well then, we must be on our way. I apologize for your arrival here as it was, sir. Alita is still learning to master some of her spells, and I'm sure wherever she pulled you from couldn't have been too far away from here."

"Pulled me from?" Jason took in his surroundings, and realized they were sitting in the middle of a forest clearing. "Where the heck is this, New Jersey?" He noticed the broken remains of his Duel Disk next to him, and grabbed up the destroyed device with wide eyes. "No! I paid over a hundred bucks for this stinking thing!"

"A hundred deer for that?" Alita lifted her eyebrows and poked the Duel Disk a couple of times, watching it hiss and spark. "Wow, you got ripped off. A hundred deer could have kept you fed for months on end."

Jason stood up and checked his pocket, relieved to find his deck there. "Well at least I've still got my cards."

"Are you an Adventurer?" Alita looked over his shoulder at the cards, and blinked at some of them. "Wow, that's a pretty shotty strategy. I guess you must be a patchwork if you are an Adventurer."

"…What?" Jason blinked at her and then at his deck. "Hey! I worked hard on assembling this thing, and I certainly ain't patchwork!"

Rubbing her chin for a few minutes, the blond-haired girl grinned suddenly. "Hey, what element and class are you?"

"Element? Class?" Jason lifted an eyebrow at her in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"…I guess you're not an Adventurer, but some of those cards seem too rare for just a commoner to have." She paced across the clearing, looking deep in thought. "Hey Flair, do you think we could use him?"

"I have no idea." The man sighed as he realized that Alita was scheming again. ("We may be in need of additional hands, but I do not think this boy is normal.")

"Hold on!" Jason yelled, grabbing Alita's shoulder and turning her around to face him, a hand dropping down and resting on that same shoulder to hold her still. "Where am I? What's going on? The last thing I remember I was dueling against that Xeno guy, and then I blew myself up to take him down. Now all of a sudden I'm here and you're talking about weird stuff I don't understand…" He turned his head to look at the guy that was apparently named Flair. "As for you, who the heck are you?"

"My name is…" Flair's eyes widened as Alita suddenly screamed and slapped the young man across the face, sending him crashing to the ground.

"You pervert!" The blond-haired girl glared down at the very confused-looking Jason. "Do you think I wasn't going to notice your hand?"

"Huh?" Even though he was used to girls hitting him, Jason was stumped as to what he had done wrong. Rolling to his feet, he rubbed his cheek gently and stared at her. "What happened?"

"Your hand slid down and you groped me, you sick…" Grinding her teeth together, Alita kicked Jason once in the stomach and stomped over to Flair. "Let's go, this guy can fend for himself."

Jason coughed for air and stood up slowly. ("What in the hell was that about?") Turning around, he glared at the two as they started to walk away. "Now hold on! I didn't do anything!" When they ignored him he realized that if he didn't stop them that he wasn't going to get any answers about where this place was or what was going on. "I challenge you to a duel!"

Hair flowing in the calm breeze around him, Flair turned to face the young man. "You wish to challenge one of us to a duel?"

"What, did I stutter?" Jason thumbed at his chest, smirking confidently. "If I win then you'll tell me what is going on."

"…" The dark-eyed man sighed quietly. "Very well, I accept your challenge. Alita is unskilled, but I am definitely the stronger out of the two of us." His arm lifted up. "Duel Carrier, come to me." A strange two-slotted large golden device appeared on his arm. "Prepare your Carrier as well."

"….ummmm…." Jason held up one finger and sweatdropped. "Hang on, we may have some complications…"

-------------------------------

Flair looked across the small clearing at Jason, his black robes and hair blowing in the wind as he narrowed his eyes at the dirty young man. "You are a fool to challenge me to a duel. I am Flair Tsukimaru while you are just some commoner that Alita summoned because of a mistake in her spell. You don't stand a chance."

Jason held up his deck and smirked. "Yeah, I bet you'd like me to be scared by that kind of talk. However, I'm not afraid of some pompous jerk like you!"

From off to the side of the clearing Alita winced as she watched Flair lift up and activate his Carrier. "Maybe you shouldn't go and challenge my partner? He's not very fond of you, and I don't think he'll hold back…"

"That's exactly what I want." The dark-haired boy gave her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about it. This guy wanted to insult me by calling me a commoner, and I'm more than happy to return the favor by blasting him out of the proverbial water." He looked down at the Carrier that he had borrowed from her, and blinked as he finally got a close look at it. ("What the heck is this thing?")

The Carrier had two deck slots, each one set to be on one side of the user's hand. It also had two different crystal displays…and no field. "Uhhh….what the heck am I supposed to do with this thing?"

A deep sigh left Flair's lips and he flicked back a lock of his hair in annoyance. "Commoner, if you don't even know what a Carrier is or how it works then where do you get off challenging an Adventurer to a duel?"

"It's not that I don't know how to duel!" Jason grabbed a nearby rock and proceeded to hit the strange bronze-colored device a couple of times, sending sparks flying from the points of contact. "This thing just doesn't have an on switch, and why does it have two deck slots anyway?"

Alita rubbed her forehead and stomped up to Jason, slapping him in the back of the head with her hand. "Stop striking my Carrier! You're supposed to use your magical power to activate it, alright?"

"My…magical power?" Jason tapped the device a couple of times and then scratched the side of his head. "What if you don't have any magical power?"

"Then why would you be challenging an Adventurer to a duel if you don't even have any magical power?" A few stray strands of her blond hair sticking from different points off her head, Alita slapped Jason in the back of the head again. "Are you suicidal?"

Jason frowned at her and inserted his deck into one of the slots. "Don't you worry about me; I'll be just fine in this duel. If there's anyone you should be worried about it should pretty boy." He pointed at Flair and blinked in surprise as the display for the slot he had inserted his deck into lit up. "Oh cool, it's on now."

Alita huffed angrily and slapped him in the back of the head again before she stomped back to the side of the clearing and sat down. "Flair, go easy on him. Apparently he's simple."

"Hey!" Jason pounded his chest once with a hand. "Be careful what you say about me! After all, I'm still recovering from my wounds."

"You seemed pretty healthy when you grabbed my chest," she muttered, eyes twitching in fury as she remembered the incident again.

"The duel begins here." Flair held up one arm to show the two decks that were in his Carrier. One looked like a normal deck of Duel Monsters cards, but the other looked different. The backs of the cards had a strange design, a golden sword crossed with a golden staff with a red background. "I choose to draw three cards from my Duel deck and two cards from my Life Deck."

"….What?" Jason blinked in surprise as the black-haired samurai drew two of the red-backed cards and three of the normal brown-back Duel Monsters cards from his deck. "What's a Life Deck?"

Right eye twitching, Flair grabbed the top card of his Life Deck. "I will go first, draw!" He pulled one card free from the red cards and added it to his now half and half colored hand. "At the cost of two cards from my hand I place myself into the duel." A pair of cards, one brown and one red, was sent from his hand into the graveyard slot of his Carrier.

Jason twitched a couple of times and rubbed the top of his head. "What the heck is going on?"

Alita groaned and ground a palm into her face. ("This guy is clueless about what a Life Deck is? Great…just great…")

Flair closed his eyes and frowned. "You challenged me to a duel and I accepted because I assumed your wounds were from a duel, but now I wonder if you just didn't fall on something sharp dozens of times."

"Shut up!" Jason snapped his free hand up and pointed at the samurai. "What's a Life Deck though?"

"A Life Deck is this." Flair tapped the stack of red cards. "These cards are formed from our personal collection of experiences and from treasures. They are very unique to each player, but like the Duel Monsters cards that you have are similar to them in that there are certain rarities to cards. In a duel when you draw you may choose to take cards from either your normal deck or your Life Deck, both have their benefits and downsides."

"Okay…but what was that you did with the discarding of two cards?" Jason felt a strange tingle of energy in the air, but he wasn't sure where it was from.

"That is because I placed myself in play as a monster on my field." Flair held up the displays of his Carrier. "This represents my magical strength into terms you can comprehend, numbers. All spells, items, and techniques in a Life Deck cost Magical Points, which is what the second number is."

Flair- 8000 (6000)

Jason- 8000 (0)

Jason frowned a little, but at least now it made sense. "Okay, I guess continue."

Flair removed a card from his Life Deck and held it up. "I summon myself at the cost of one card from my deck." The card disappeared and he rested his free hand on the hilt of his katana gently. (1000/1000)

"You just have a 1000 attack points?" Jason snickered out.

"Have you noticed that I have yet to draw my sword?" Grasping a card from his hand, Flair held it up and tossed it off to the side. "I summon Mataza the Zapper from my hand to the field in attack mode." A dark-skinned samurai appeared alongside him, the card having completely vanished. (1300/800) "End turn."

Jason scratched the top of his head and sighed. "I still don't totally get this, but here goes nothing." He drew and added the card to his hand. "I activate the field magic card Five Elements Field!" An explosion of energy erupted around them both as the card disappeared and there were now five different colored squares of light in front of him. "And then I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode!" The card he had selected from his hand disappeared, and the blue-nosed dragon monster appeared in the green-colored square and roared loudly. (1900/0) "Spear Dragon, attack that pompous ass now!"

"Is that so?" Flair grabbed one of the red cards remaining in his hand. "I pay 200 Magic Points to activate Shadow Intimidation. This spell allows me to redirect your attack to a different monster in play." He barely flinched as the Spear Dragon fired a blast of green energy that slammed into Mataza and shattered it.

Flair- 7400 (5800)

Jason- 8000 (0)

Jason grimaced as his Spear Dragon switched itself to defense mode. "I place one card face-down and end my turn." The card disappeared out of his hand and appeared in a much larger form face-down behind his dragon.

Flair drew from his Duel Deck. "I activate the magic card Graceful Charity, drawing two cards from my Life Deck and one card from my Duel Deck." After drawing his cards he grasped two from his hand, discarding them to his graveyard. "And then I play The Warrior Returning Alive, adding Mataza the Zapper from my graveyard to my hand." The magic card he was holding changed into the monster card he had named, which he threw and it disappeared as the samurai reformed on his field. (1300/800)

Jason rubbed the side of his head, his brow knotted tight in frustration. "I don't get this crap at all…"

"That's a shame." The other two cards he was holding disappeared within his robes as Flair drew his katana and charged at the Spear Dragon. "Here I come!" Then he slashed through the creature and it exploded. "My first special ability, simply translated, is that when I defeat a monster in battle the controller of that monster takes 1000 points of damage."

Jason's eyes widened as the samurai continued forward, slashing a shallow cut in his chest and sending him stumbling backwards in surprise and pain.

Flair- 7400 (5800)

Jason- 7000 (0)

"And then," Flair jumped back and his Mataza charged in past him, sword drawn. "My Mataza the Zapper makes two direct attacks against your life points!"

Jason's eyes widened in fear right before a pair of bloody gashes were added to the number of wounds on his chest.

Flair- 7400 (5800)

Jason- 4400 (0)

Alita winced as Jason dropped to his knees in pain. "I think he's had enough, let's call it the end there alright Flair?"

The black-haired samurai turned to face her with a glower on his face. "After what he did to you I have no intention on holding back. If he dies here then it is his own fault." When she glared at him he relented slightly. "Commoner, if you wish to stop the pain then bow down before Alita and apologize while groveling. I will not let you get away with something as low as what you did to her without there being correct punishment."

"Grovel…" Jason's hands dug deep into the soft earth below him, and then he stood up and sneered at Flair mockingly. "Not a chance. Reverse card open, Jewel of the Five Elements!"

His card started to glow. "From my graveyard one air, water, fire, light, or earth attribute monster will be revived, after which I cannot revive another monster of that same type!" His Spear Dragon appeared in play. (1900/0) (Counters: 4/Fire/Water/Light/Earth)

Flair scoffed and stepped back, sword hanging at his side loosely. "End turn."

"Draw!" Jason added the card to his hand and then motioned to his Spear Dragon, which started to fade away. "I offer my monster as a sacrifice to summon my Elemental Monarch!" A white-colored steel machine with a hollow inside appeared on his field. (2400/1000) "This guy's effect depends on the type of monster sacrificed for his summon. In this case I gave up a wind, so his ability is that when he attacks I can return one card in play to its owner's hand." He pointed at Mataza the Zapper. "That's my target, go Elemental Monarch!"

Flair didn't flinch at all as his monster disappeared, and the Elemental Monarch charged in to strike him with one of its massive fists. "I cannot be destroyed, but it does cost 500 magic points to keep myself from losing."

Flair- 6000 (5300)

Jason- 4400 (0)

Jason grinned and held up one of his cards. "Hold on then, I'm about to get another hit in thanks to Instant Summon! From my hand one monster will be normal summoned, and I choose my Goblin Elite Force!" (2200/1500) A squad of armored goblins appeared on his field. "Attack him now!"

Flair slid back a little more as the troop of monsters charged in and tackled him as a whole.

Flair- 4800 (4800)

Jason- 4400 (0)

Jason's Goblins returned and switched to defense mode. "And now I end my battle phase and play the continuous magic card Elemental Charger. During my standby phase for every attribute of monster I control I gain 800 life points. End turn." He couldn't help but smile confidently now, as he had just slammed down the insolent jerk with ease.

Flair brushed his shoulders free of some dirt and then he drew from his Duel Deck. "It seems that you are becoming confident that you can defeat me without a Life Deck. That is impossible." He held up the drawn card. "I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my Life Deck." Adding two more red cards to his hand, he held up and discarded Mataza the Zapper. "At the cost of one warrior type monster from my hand I can activate the item card Shadow-Cutting Katana." The sword hanging from his side started to glow. (2200/1000) "My power is increased by 1200 points. Also, if I battle with a monster that cannot be destroyed in battle then its effects are negated."

"At the cost of one card from your hand, that's pretty sad." Jason smiled at the samurai confidently. "I don't really run any monsters with those kinds of effects, and during the next turn my Monarch will tear down your monsters."

"What a foolish thing to declare." Flair grabbed two cards from his hand. "I activate these two technique cards. They are called Flash Cut. They can only be played if I have a sword type weapon item in my possession, and they allow me to attack an additional time during my upcoming battle phase at the cost of 400 magic points apiece."

Flair- 4800 (4000)

Jason- 4400 (0)

"I'm not done yet!" Flair held up the last card in his hand to reveal another technique. "I activate Power Slash, which can only activate if I have a sword type item in my possession. At the cost of 200 magic points my power rises by 500 points when I attack a monster during this turn!"

Flair- 4800 (3800)

Jason- 4400 (0)

Then he grabbed his katana and ran in at the two monsters, his weapon moving rapidly and slashing through both the Goblin Elite Force and then the Elemental Monarch, with one last strike going straight through Jason with enough force to send a crescent-shaped spray of blood going from his chest to against a nearby tree. (2700/1000) "Also, you take an additional 1000 points of damage from my translated effect, though I can only use this effect once per turn."

Flair- 4800 (3800)

Jason- 900 (0)

Alita flushed white as the now profusely-bleeding Jason collapsed to his knees. "That's enough Flair, he's lost. Without any magical power these blows are very real, and therefore he is one the verge of dying. I don't want to have to expend my magic anymore than necessary to heal his wounds, after all."

The samurai nodded and sheathed his katana as he returned to his side of the field. "Indeed, this duel is done."

"Not yet!" Jason held up the Carrier he was wearing. "At the end phase of this turn I restore Elemental Monarch and Goblin Elite Force!" (Counters: 2/Fire/Water)

Then he drew from his deck. "Elemental Charger increases my life points by 1600!"

Flair- 4800 (3800)

Jason- 2500 (0)

He pointed at the samurai. "Go Elemental Monarch, attack him!"

Flair slid back a little as he was punched in the chest by the attacking monster. "Even now you still refuse to give up, hm?"

Flair- 4600 (3300)

Jason- 2500 (0)

"I set one card face-down and end my turn." Jason did not want to acknowledge that he was scared of dying at this moment. Before when he had dueled Xeno he had known that he was going to die, so only taking down the creep was on his mind. Now though, he could live if he didn't get slashed to bits by the psycho samurai wannabe. ("I have to hold on.")

Flair drew from his Duel Deck. "I attack Goblin Elite Force!" Grabbing the handle of his katana, he charged forwards rapidly.

"Reverse card open!" Jason's set card flipped up and a swirling vortex of power appeared, stopping the samurai's charge immediately. "Negate Attack stops your attack and ends your battle phase, sorry."

"I place one card face-down and end my turn." Flair tossed the card out and it grew giant, floating to land in front on him on the field.

"Draw!" Jason felt his body heal slowly as his Elemental Charger activated. "Go Elemental Monarch!" He smirked as his monster pounded on the samurai once more. "Then I place one card face-down and end my turn."

Flair- 4400 (2800)

Jason- 4100 (0)

Flair drew from his Life Deck and flipped the card up so it was facing Jason. "At the cost of 1000 magic points I activate my ultimate technique!" An aura of black energy lit up around him. "It is called Chorus of One Thousand Shadow Swords." The card disappeared and he drew his katana. "This is the end! All face-up cards on your field will be destroyed, and for every one destroyed you'll lose 400 life points!"

Alita gaped at Flair in horror. "You can't be serious, he has no magical power! The force of the technique will kill him!"

"Be quiet, Alita." The samurai lifted his sword up, the edge of the glittering blade starting to glow with a shadowed energy. "I offer you one last chance to surrender before I cut you down. Do you accept or not?"

Jason clenched his fist tightly, sweat dripping down his forehead and chest, mixing with the blood already there and creating a burning sensation through him. ("Just like before, I'm completely outclassed by somebody I can't hope to defeat. And yet…") Even though he was shaking bodily, he slowly grew a cold sneer. "Do you intend to stand there and act tough, or will you show me just how powerful you supposedly are?"

"Very well!" Snapping his arm out, Flair swung his sword down and five crescents of black-grey energy exploded from it, slashing down the Five Elements Field, Elemental Monarch, Goblin Elite Force, Elemental Charger, and Jewel of the Five Elements in one shot, sending all of Jason's field up in one massive explosion.

Flair- 4400 (1800)

Jason- 2100 (0)

Despite her anger concerning him, Alita was staring into the smoke cloud that had been created with a look of despair on her face. ("Please don't be dead…please don't be dead…")

Flair's eyes narrowed and he sheathed his katana, eyes closed. "This is the truth of the matter. Despite how hard you try, someone without a Life Deck cannot defeat the powers of one who possesses such a skill. Without magical power in this world you are worse than even a commoner…for even they have such powers. You are a dog…a weak, insignificant animal I could kill with a glance."

A weak laughter echoed out of the smoke and it cleared just enough to reveal Jason, covered from head to toe in a series of bloody cuts where the crescents had connected with his body. Blood dribbled from his lip the dirt and his laughter slowly died down, though that strange cold sneer was still on his face. "It's always the same…no matter how hard I try…"

Flair stood in silence; eyes now open as he waited patiently for his dog of an opponent to continue speaking.

Alita was horrified by the fatal damage that was obvious just from looking at Jason's body. She didn't have the magical power to heal such wounds, at least not for another day or so.

Jason's confident look faded, and his fists clenched tightly in quivering anger. "I'm always the underdog in every conflict I've ever fallen into. I'm the guy that winds up getting laughed at, or made a fool of, or just outright beaten to a pulp. And then I fought that Shadow Duelist, and I was dying just like I am right now. In that moment I felt like a hero that was killing himself to make sure the villain stayed down…"

The anger in his voice grew stronger. "And then you revived me…just to bring me here and treat me like this! Even in another world I'm apparently the guy that's supposed to be kicked around like some kind of fool…"

"Would you have preferred to die?" Flair glanced over at Alita. "She gave up her own energy to save your pitiful life, so if you dare appear ungrateful then I'll cut that life right out of you."

"Shut your face." Jason's cold sneer returned, his eyes glistening in the sunlight. "I ain't done talking yet, jerk. Of course I'm grateful to her, hell the moment I laid eyes on her I thought I was looking into the face of an angel…but that's not the point!" His hand shot up and he pointed at the samurai. "If I back down then what does that make me? What's the point in living if I don't have the respect to back it up?"

"An interesting proposition, but my stance about you will not change while you have no magical power." Flair pulled his katana out of its sheath just enough to reflect Jason in its image. "I am not sentimental. If you are weak, I will cut you down."

"It's my turn." Jason drew and held the card up with a dark smile on his face. "And let's just say that at the moment I'm feeling particularly lonely. I'm trapped in a strange world with no way to get home…and at the moment I want to really kill you."

"Should I be afraid?" Flair fingered his katana's handle. "I have no reason to fear you."

"That's true, you don't…" Jason's set card flipped up. "I activate Five-way Road of Despair! At the cost of 1000 life points this trap card reveals the top five cards of my deck to you. Then you select one and it goes to my hand." Five cards appeared in the air above him. (Pot of Greed, Research on the Pot of Greed, Big Shield Gardna, Solar Flare Dragon, Elemental Whirl)

"My choice is Elemental Whirl." Flair watched the other four cards disappear and he narrowed his eyes at Jason. "I wonder now, what exactly that little card of yours does."

Jason threw the one card in his hand out, the piece of cardboard disappearing and quickly being replaced by a fish-tailed girl. "I summon Enchanting Mermaid in attack mode and activate Elemental Whirl, removing one water, fire, earth, wind, and light monsters from my field or graveyard to pay for its cost! And with that complete all cards in play return to their owner's hands."

Flair flinched as a powerful storm swept across the field and his Shadow-Cutting Katana and set card returned to his hand. "I cannot be removed from the field in such a fashion, unfortunately for you."

Jason steeled his resolve and looked directly into Flair's eyes. "End turn."

The samurai drew from his Life Deck and held the card up. "At the cost of 100 magic points I activate my Improvised Weaponry spell, allowing me to discard any number of items in play or in my hand to power myself up by 1000 attack points for the turn." He held up the Shadow-Cutting Katana, which dissolved out of his grasp. (2000/1000)

Jason's legs started to tremble…and then he was laughing. "Same story, different world huh? I'm just the butt of the joke, and that is my purpose." Then he tilted his head back. "Kill me, if you please. I can already tell that living here is not something I want to do."

Flair nodded slowly, drawing his blade and bringing the glittering edge in line with the young man's throat. "As you wish, dog." He charged inwards towards Jason…

Alita leapt in between the two of them, arms out and glare in full force at her fellow Adventurer. "That's enough, Flair! I don't even care about the incident anymore!"

Stopping and sheathing his katana, the samurai shrugged his shoulders and stepped past her. "Very well."

Jason blinked a couple of times in surprise…and therefore was caught completely off guard when Flair flicked him right in the forehead and his completely wasted body gave out, crashing back-first to the soft dirt.

Flair- 4400 (1700)

Jason- 0 (0)

Jason felt his eyelids growing heavy, and he passed out.

_To be continued…_


	3. Welcome to Temarocia

Disclaimer: No I do not own the concept of the Yugioh card game, but I do own the world of Temarocia.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 3: Welcome to Temarocia

A single heavy metal gate stood tall against in the light breeze of the spring day, the rays of the sun illuminating its ancient bolts and bars that held it together from the inside out. The road that led to it appeared well-traveled, definitely something commonly used by merchants and traders. Today though there was no traffic traversing the road, as it was clearly obvious that something was wrong.

Black clouds never seemed to focus on one specific point in the distance…and they never naturally followed over the path of a winding road as if they were accompanying something.

-------------------------

The first thing that Jason did when he awoke was make a resolution to kick that long-haired jackass in the skull the next time he saw him. ("He took me down with a flick to the head…a flick to the freaking head!") His eyes opened and he immediately realized that he was in a room somewhere, the stone walls warmed thanks to an unknown source. "Where am I?"

"The town of Acudacia," Flair said from his seat in a chair next to the young man's sickbed. "You've been unconscious for about a day, and yet when we got you here the healer's said that you would survive with little to no problem. You're quite the resilient dog, I must admit that much."

Sitting up in his bed, Jason pulled the covers down just enough to see that his normal clothing had been replaced by a brown tunic and brown pants. "Ugh, I look terrible in these…"

"If your first complaint is against the fashion here then I'm leaving." The black-haired samurai started to stand up, but stopped the moment that Jason shot a glare at him. ("It's that look again, the one he had before.") "You want to duel me once more?"

"I was close last time; you wouldn't have won if not for that lucky draw." Jason tugged on the hem of the tunic, wincing as he realized that the bandages underneath it were still rather fresh. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Do you have business with me or is this just a visit for the sake of mocking me?"

"I want no more to do with you then you do with me, but Alita feels that she owes you something." Flair sat back down in his chair and crossed his legs. "You're not from this world, but I'm sure that's not of any surprise to you. I'm willing to answer some questions, since I've got some time on my hands while she prepares supplies for the next leg of our journey."

Silence followed, as Jason rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What is this place?"

"This is the holy land of Temarocia," The samurai tilted his head to look at one of the walls of the windowless room.

Jason realized that if the curt answer he had just gotten was any indication that he was going to be asking a lot of specific questions to get the answers he wanted. "How did I get here?"

"To sum it up, Alita did the impossible and when she summoned a random creature to assist her you wound up coming out of the portal." Flair sighed in frustration as he remembered the girl's reaction. ("I suggested we just kill him, but no…she feels like it is her fault that he's here. While it might be, I don't give a damn…we've got places to be and this dog is in our way.") He tilted his head back towards Jason and shot the young man a cold glance.

Jason didn't back down from the look. "How do I get home?"

"The city of magic, Mudeia, would be the best place to look for a magic user that possessed the power to tear dimensions with that kind of accuracy."

"And how would I get there?" Jason's right eye had developed a tick halfway through the last sentence, as his patience started to wear thin.

"It's a long and complicated road," Flair smiled coldly. "Whether it be coincidence or not, that is also our final destination." Noticing the hopeful look in the young man's eyes, he narrowed his own dark orbs. "However, I have no intention of taking you along with us."

"What?" Leaping out of his bed, Jason grabbed the samurai's robe from the front and pulled him in close, their noses nearly touching. "Why not?"

"You have no magical powers at all. Not even the slightest bit." Flair's eyes continued to narrow dangerously. "Everyone in Temarocia, from the lowest animal to the tallest tree, has at least a little bit of magical power in them. You have absolutely zero. Therefore to carry you along with us would be the biggest waste of effort. You can't even be trained to become stronger, because there's nothing to work with."

"Now you listen here!" Jason shouted. "Because of that girl I can't get home without going to this stupid city you were talking about, so you're going to tell me what I have to do to become strong enough to be useful to you right now!" He released Flair's robe and feel into a cross-legged sitting position on his bed.

"It's nothing special." The samurai silently removed five red-backed cards from within the folds of his robe, fanning them out in front of him. "You just have to gain the magical power necessary to at least be some use to me. Because of your complete lack of such a thing though, there's only one method for you to become stronger."

Jason blinked in surprise as the cards were handed to him. "What's this, more of your stupid broken Life Deck cards?"

"Something like that," Flair smirked. "Those are called Prize Cards, and they are created when an Adventurer kills a wild monster. That monster turns into such a card, and those cards can be turned in for experience, money, and other such things."

Lifting an eyebrow at the man, Jason tried his hardest not to start laughing. ("This is like some kind of Role-Playing Game brought to life…isn't it?") He looked down at the cards. "So what am I supposed to do with these?"

"In this town there is a place called a Refinery, where Adventurers take Prize Cards to have them broken down into their base elements." Flair leaned back in his chair. "The machine there sucks in all magical energy from out of the air, and then distills it into a container for the refiner. It's very dangerous to any Temarocian because without magic in your body you die, but in your case you seem capable of living despite your lack of magical power…"

Jason caught on and his right eye started twitching even faster. "You can't be serious…you're suggesting I try distilling the magic in these cards into my own body?"

"Precisely." Flair shrugged his shoulders and stood up. "We'll be leaving in one hour, regardless of whether or not you are with us or not." He opened the door to the room and walked out without another word leaving his lips. ("Alita is out of her mind to suggest I tell him about such a theory, but it doesn't matter. If he dies then so be it, I don't really care what happens to some piece of low-life trash.")

Jason started shuffling the cards slowly, eyes closed as he thought about his options. ("I really don't have a choice, do I? I've got to at least try this insane method.")

-------------------------

Flair closed the door to Jason's room and walked down the halls of the healer's slowly, one hand resting inside his robe. ("I do not understand what Alita is thinking, giving such rare prize cards to a foolish dog. The selection was rather interesting though,") He knew next to nothing about how magic, what he had been telling the fool was just what Alita had asked him to say. "Oh well, it doesn't seem to matter…"

A tingle ran up his spine. ("Damn it, I know that feeling too.") As much as the samurai had wanted to avoid having to fight for a while, it seemed he didn't have a choice. ("Whether by random chance or some odd turn of luck, it seems that a plague-touched has found their way to this town.") Resting a hand on the hilt of his katana, he started marching towards the entrance to the town. "I hope this one actually is a challenge, the last two were pitifully easy to crush…"

-----------------------------

The black clouds had arrived, and now they were surrounding the outer walls of the town slowly. Only one person had the courage to stand outside the protective iron gate of the town at this time, and that was the person which was being followed by those same foreboding clouds.

He stood with his cape blowing in the wind created by his own personal weather effect, his short and spiky red hair bobbing in the strong breeze. Eyes closed, he faced the heavy gate of the town with a sneer on his scarred face. "How nice it must be, to be stupid enough to think that some silly pieces of stone and metal would keep a true threat out of their home."

His eyes opened slowly to reveal the red of his irises, the vibrant blood color pulsing within its containers as if his eyes were entities separate from their owner. "It's such a shame that they're all going to die here."

A blood-red circle appeared etched into the earth at his feet, arcane symbols forming in the rings of the object slowly. "By the power of the Hell, I begin this duel…with my opponent being the town of Acudacia." The circle pulsed and expanded outwards, passing through both trees and earth as it grew large enough to encircle the whole town, outer walls and all.

Lifting up one arm, the man sneered as his Carrier activated, though this one's slots had two decks of red cards. "Duel!" He drew five cards from the deck in the left slot, fanning them out in front of him as he drew a sixth from that same slot. "Now let's see what I'm up against…" (8000/9000)

The heavy Iron Gate now had a glowing display over it. (0/3000)

"Heh," The man ran a finger along his tongue and then grasped a card from his hand. "That's a pretty good gate. Against wild monster attacks it would hold for days on end. It's such a shame though…" The card was flicked into the air, light coming from its edges. "…that I'm not an ordinary monster! Come out now, my Mad Bomber!" A blood-red portal appeared where the card had been and a cackling hunchback creature of the same color leapt down and landed in front of him, lovingly rubbing the edges of the black metal sphere in its grasp. (300/300) (8000/8800)

"And for good measure, a spell as well." Another card was tossed from his hand into the air, the piece of thick paper dissolving instantly. "Invasion of Hostile Forces will be useful when I crush a defense mode monster during this turn." (8000/8400) His hand lifted and he pointed at the gate. "Go now, Mad Bomber."

The creature cackled and ran head-first into the heavy slab of metal, exploding and instantly blowing a rough hole through the locks of the gate.

"At this time the effect of Invasion of Hostile Forces activates!" The man sneered and fanned his deck out in front of his face, two cards sliding free from the rest and floating into the air. "Two level four or lower monsters will be special summoned from my deck without costing me any magic points at all."

The two cards dissolved into portals of blood-red light, and a pair of huge bull-headed humanoids emerged from the two holes in the sky angrily, landing in front of the man and running their hooves through the soft ground below them. (1600/1300)x2

"My cute little Labyrinth Minotaurs, when special summoned, gain 800 attack points." The man licked his lips as the displays above his monsters ticked upwards rapidly to 2400. "Also, when Mad Bomber attacks all battle damage to me is zero and he destroys the opposing monster. Now then, go in and start killing them all."

The two Minotaurs roared and tackled the broken remains of the gate, sending it into a fit of shuddering. Their broad shoulders slammed again and again until finally the heavy slabs of metal blew away from each other, revealing the beginning street to what appeared to be a rather bustling town.

A deadly silence held over gathered men that stood in a straight line about one hundred feet from the now destroyed entrance to their town. At their head stood a tall man wearing a captain's uniform, his hands running through his nearly trimmed mustache. "A pair of Minotaurs? They're the attackers? If so, then they shouldn't have gotten through the gate that easily…" His eyes widened as a crazy laughter pierced the air and the red-haired man walked past the two enraged monsters without a care in the world. "For those creatures not to attack you, you must have been the one to summon them…"

"That's correct." The man's pulsing red eyes flickered across the empty street, reflecting a bit of disappointment. "This is such a shame. I was expecting some civilians to kill too." His eyes closed and he made a dismissive little motion with his hands that seemed like some kind of mocking way of praising the town guard. "You boys outdid yourselves, getting all those people to safety in such a short amount of time."

The guard captain frowned angrily at the robed man. "Who are you, bastard? You're the one that created that strange circle around the town limits, didn't you?"

"That's right," Folding the four remaining cards in his hand up and hiding them in his robe pocket, the man motioned to everything in front of him. "My name is Asdei, a second level officer of a man I'm sure you all know far too well, considering this town is located within his territory."

The captain's eyes widened in slow understanding…and fear. "You can't mean Kyris the Plague, can you?"

"The very same." Asdei smirked, the glow of his eyes growing in intensity. "And just to let you know, Kyris isn't pleased with the way Acudacia hasn't been sending him any tributes. After all, without Tem in the coffers how can he afford to properly rule the country of Aeiro?"

"None of us asked for an insane man to show up and declare himself the ruler of everyone that lives in this country," The captain motioned to the men behind him, who lifted their bows. "And Acudacia will not be paying any tribute to a dictator we do not acknowledge."

"…" Asdei closed his eyes and slowly smiled wickedly. "I was hoping that you'd be like the last three towns...they all said the same stupid thing." His eyes opened and his right hand came up to show he was holding his four card hand again. "The duel hasn't ended yet, so let's continue. After all, until you surrender my beautiful minotaurs will be destroying this place." He pointed in front of him. "Go get them, guys."

The two bull-headed monsters roared and charged forwards towards the gathered line of guards.

"Ready, aim…" The captain lifted his arm above his head, not budging at all in the face of the charging monsters. ("They are just two creatures, we can easily handle them!")

Asdei drew a card from his deck and held up a different one. "Don't underestimate the power of my Town Destroyer Deck, fool! If you think I can't stop your pitiful attempt to defend then you are dead wrong!" The card disappeared and in the air above him a pair of blood-red eyes appeared, releasing a blast of crimson light that washed over the row of archers and guards and left them frozen, unable to move. "I activate Eyes of the Hell at the cost of 500 magic points." (8000/7900)

("I can't move…") The captain could only watch in horror as the Minotaurs tore down the length of the abandoned street towards his defenseless men. ("There was no time to contact any Adventurers in the area…without them we can't stand against this kind of power…") His eyes widened even more, pupils dilating as his eyes reflected the image of the approaching monster…

Asdei's laughter reached its crescendo. ("I love it. The feeling of crushing these fools that would oppose Kyris' reign over this country…")

"It seems…" Flair said from his position about five feet between both the Minotaurs and the frozen guards, "That you gentlemen have bitten off more than you can chew." Two of the six Life Deck cards in his hand were flipped over to reveal the same picture of a pair of menacing eyes glaring through the darkness. "I discard two Shadow Intimidation spells from my hand as the cost to summon my avatar to the duel." (1000/1000)

"Who in the hell…" Asdei's eyes widened in surprise at the appearance of the samurai. ("Where did this guy come from?")

"From my hand I activate Showdown of Warriors!" Flair's eyes narrowed slightly as the two Minotaurs froze in their tracks, horns inches from his face, and slowly withdrew. "This spell, at the cost of 300 magic points, allows me to negate all attacks during this turn and make all battle damage zero, but during the next turn I must attack with all monsters on my field." (8000/5700)

Asdei snorted and a slow smile crept onto his face to replace his surprised expression. "You're not bad, mystery man. That's fine, I'm actually glad you stopped my monsters. I was looking forward to a good battle."

"You won't find it here." The black-haired samurai ran a hand through his bangs, stroking them out of his face. "I have no intention of playing a game with you, since I know how the men of Kyris the Hell operate."

"What's the matter, eh?" The red-eyed man sneered mockingly. "Are you some kind of idiot? Did you jump into this battle because these men were in danger and you had to save them?"

"Che, don't misunderstand." Flair rested one hand on the hilt of his katana. "My partner suddenly declared that she had something to do, so she told me to go kill some time." The thin slot in his Carrier started glowing. "Shadow Intimidation, when discarded for the summon of a Darkness Element Avatar, lets the user draw a card at the cost of 200 magic points." Two cards left his Life Deck and were added to his hand. (8000/5300)

Asdei threw back his head and laughed in amusement. "So this is just because you're bored?"

"Precisely." The samurai drew to indicate his turn had started. "Back and forth rules fine with you?"

"I don't really care, it's just nice to finally meet an Adventurer that didn't run in fear when they found out who I work for." The red-eyed lifted one brow crazily. "You do understand the penalty for losing to me, don't you?"

Flair scoffed and placed a hand on his hip. "It's not any big secret what happens if someone loses in a magical duel or battle to anyone infected with the Hell. They become infected themselves."

Asdei looked extremely amused now. "I love how laidback you are about it."

"I'm glad you enjoy the fact that I'm not afraid of you in the slightest." The samurai held up a spell card. "At the cost of 500 magic points I activate Item Summoning, adding one random item from my deck to my hand."

A card slid out of his Carrier and he grabbed it, sneering as it faded away. "My choice is Shadow-Cutting Sword, which forgoes its cost in a battle by instead costing me 1000 magic points and the top card of my deck. It raises my attack points by 1200." (2200/1000) (LP/MP: 8000/3800)

The guard captain couldn't believe their luck. ("I didn't know that any Adventurers had been in town, but luckily this one showed up and is willing to help save us!")

Flair tossed two cards into the air and slashed through them with his katana, not flinching in the slightest as an aura of energy appeared around him. "I activate the spell Swordsman's Fury and the technique card Power Slash, which in total costs me 600 magic points to activate. During this turn when I attack a monster my power rises by 500, and I may pay an additional 100 to attack another monster after my attack if it is successful." (LP/MP: 8000/3200)

Asdei narrowed his eyes angrily. ("That bastard…")

"Here I come." Flair disappeared, the ground where he had been standing erupting with dust. Less than a second later he was standing past the two Minotaurs, which were already falling to the ground as corpses. (2700/1000) (LP/MP: 8000/3100)

Asdei growled and snapped his hand up. "At the cost of 400 magic points I choose to negate the actual physical damage to myself from your two attacks!" A barrier of crimson came to life around him and a pair of thin slash-marks appeared in it before it faded. (LP/MP: 7400/7100)

Clicking his katana back into its sheath, the samurai exhaled quietly. "End turn." (2200/1000)

The red-eyed man drew angrily, his eyes trembling. ("This guy is definitely a professional that much is certain.")

Flair had something different on his mind at that moment. ("Where did Alita need to go to in such a hurry anyway, we were just about to leave too…")

-----------------------

Jason sighed exaggeratedly while he looked at Alita's caped back. "Listen, I don't need you to walk me through this distilling process. How hard could it be anyway?"

The blond-haired girl glanced back at him. "I don't want to see you die, and if you tried to operate a Refiner on your own I do not doubt that it would probably malfunction and blow you up."

The New Yorker's right eye twitched a couple of times in agitation. "You're just like that pompous bathrobe-wearing ass that follows you around when you talk like that. Do I really look that unreliable?"

"It's not a matter of looking unreliable; it's a matter of dealing with things that you couldn't possibly understand because you're not from this world!" She turned and poked his chest a couple of times to try and get the message through to him. "Now stop asking questions and just do what I say!"

"…" Jason stepped past her and power-walked down the street of the very quiet and almost-lifeless town. "I've had as much as I can stand of you. Apparently if you can't do freaky stuff like pull people through other dimensions or look like someone pulled you out of a bad samurai action flick then you aren't a person. Well then screw you and screw this weird magical surgery you intend to do to me!" Kicking open the shop door next to him, he stuck his tongue out at her and stomped inside.

"Of all the impudent…" Alita was about to stomp in after Jason and give him a piece of her mind, when she noticed the sign on the door. ("This is the Refinery…he didn't just choose randomly…") It was closed though, which meant that there was no one minding the equipment. "Wait, no one minding…"

Then her hair was blown back violently as the wooden building exploded in a spray of splinters and flames, leaving her to stare at the burning remains of it with a slack jaw. "How did you manage to blow it up before I even stepped in the door, you idiot?"

_To be continued…_


	4. Birth of a Grafter

Disclaimer: No I do not own the rules of Yugioh. I do own Temarocia, and everything in it.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 4: Birth of a Grafter

_("What were their names again…those cards the ass gave me…") No matter how hard he tried, Jason couldn't recall their names._

_**Call upon us and we will aid you, remember that.**_

----------------------------------

Asdei looked at Flair and then at the cards in his hand. ("This opponent is skilled, very skilled…I cannot attack him wastefully.") He knew that his enemy was a samurai class and a darkness element. ("I don't have anything that can counter his element, but I do have this.")

Brushing back his bangs, Flair looked at the red-eyed magician coldly. "Well, are you going to make a move or do you not mind being attacked directly?"

Asdei- 7400/7100

Flair- 8000/3100

"Don't worry, I've finally made my decision about which of these cards is best suited to crush you." Grasping one of his hand cards, Asdei threw it out in front of him. "I summon Stone Golem in attack mode at the cost of 300 magic points."

Asdei- 7400/6800

Flair- 8000/3100

A giant pillar of rock exploded out of the ground in front of him, shattering and spraying hunks of stone all across the street. "Come out now, my servant." The stones lifted up into the air and combined into one humanoid of stone, the newly summoned creature roaring at Flair. (1700/2000) "I'll end it there."

The samurai drew from his Life Deck calmly, though now he was worried. ("I understand now, his deck runs cards that can counter my sword strategy.") A Stone Golem's ability allowed it to halve all damage dealt by slashing and piercing type weapons, so his normal attack was useless against it. "Very clever."

"Isn't it though?" Asdei sneered cheerfully. "Tell me, samurai, just what you can possibly do against me now that I've got this creature in play? You'd have to hit it with a 3400 point attack just to break its covering."

"That's true." Flair grabbed one card from his hand. "It seems I have no choice then, but to take you seriously." A shimmering purple aura erupted around his body. "I hope you had fun terrorizing those other towns, because after this fight you won't be terrorizing anyone ever again."

"What are you babbling about, weakling?" Asdei held up his carrier. "You had only 6000 magic points at the start, and I began with 9000. That alone says my power is one hundred and fifty percent of yours."

"That's a nice rationalization," The aura grew brighter and stronger. "If everyone was stupid and never held back. From my hand I activate the spell card Release of Power at the cost of 2000 magic points to raise my magic points by 10000, draw three cards, and increase my overall power to its highest level."

"Release of Power?" Asdei was forced to close his eyes as a storm of dust was blown into them. "For you to have that card would mean that your energy is high enough that you need to keep it sealed."

"Precisely." Flair felt the aura slowly reach its calming point, the purple energy dying to a dull glow around him. "If I walked around with my full power released all the time then I would wind up exhausting myself, as well drawing creatures to me that I'd rather avoid. It's the tactic of the wise, and as such I'm sure you can understand now that in the realm of power you are bit outclassed."

Asdei- 7400/6800

Flair- 8000/11100

One arm in front of his face, Asdei couldn't help it anymore…he had to smile. "You don't even realize your mistake yet, do you?" One of the cards in his hand started to glow. "These guys I'm holding do, and they look forward to making you pay for your ego! I activate the spell card Magic Plague!"

"Magic Plague…" Flair's eyes shot wide as he suddenly felt dozens of stabbing pains in his chest. Looking down, he saw a group of small mosquito-like creatures that were attached to his chest and sending their piercing noses into his skin and muscle.

"Magic Plague can be activated when the opponent would increase their magic points through an effect. Their magic points return to normal and then their magic points drop by 1000!" Asdei laughed wildly as he watched the energy that had been coming from the samurai fade away rapidly. "Do you understand now, just how futile this battle is? Against me, your power means nothing. A single-minded pursuit of the sword is utterly useless against me!"

Asdei- 7400/5800

Flair- 8000/100

Dropping to one knee, Flair snapped his katana up and slashed the monsters attached to his chest away before they could suck up anymore of his power. ("I made a miscalculation in this battle. I hadn't expected him to be ready to face a powerful opponent using such a method.")

"Oh well, power doesn't mean everything right?" Asdei tapped the side of his head with a finger. "Go on ahead and draw for Release of Power, let's see what you can do shall we?"

Drawing three cards from his Life Deck, Flair looked at them all before holding one up. "I activate the spell card Warrior's Training. I draw up to four cards and then return four cards from my hand to the top of my deck." He removed four cards from his Duel Deck and returned the four Life Deck cards in his hand to the top of his Life Deck, since he no longer had the magic power to use any of them. ("Warrior's Training doesn't cost any magic points, so I've got 100 left to use as I see fit.")

"Your true power has been sealed for this battle, my dear swordsman." Turning his back on the samurai, Asdei threw his hands up as his voice reached an echoing pitch. "What tragedy, what horror, what fun!"

He turned to face Flair and sneered insanely. "To think that I'd run into such a powerful opponent in this town, and that I just happened to have the necessary cards together to seal their powers. I wonder now, just how much of a coincidence this is, eh?"

Flair caught the sarcasm, and knew that what was simply supposed to be a method to pass the time had now turned into a fight to the death. ("This one knew about my being here, and that means he might know something about…") His eyes widened in terror. "Alita…"

"Ah, you mean the cute girl I was told to do away with?" The mage shrugged his shoulders innocently. "Whoops, I let it slip."

"Damn you…" Flair knew that he'd have to chastise himself about this later. His guard had been down, and therefore he hadn't thought someone would have known about himself and Alita. ("We weren't cautious enough, and now I have to win without my energy.") "I set one monster face-down and three cards face-down on my field, end turn." Four face-down cards appeared across his field, and he sheathed his katana while standing up tall. "I don't know how you know about her, but it doesn't matter…I won't let you bring her to harm."

"You can't stop me. She's my secondary objective while I'm here, the primary being the destruction of this town." Asdei drew from his Life Deck. "Here we go, sealed guardian! I activate the item card Dimensional Warp Portal at the cost of 400 magic points for the initial activation."

A crackling portal appeared in the air behind him. "With this in play I can teleport my monsters to any location within the duel ring, meaning that dear little Alita won't be safe no matter where she hides!" (7400/5400)

"You can't send them to her without knowing her location, or have you forgotten that?" Flair felt the sweat building on his forehead as he realized just how dire the situation had just become. ("I can't leave this location as I am now. My power is sealed away because of his spell, and until the effects wear away I'll be using all my remaining strength just to stay alive…")

"Of course I haven't forgotten." Asdei threw a card into the air above him. "I summon Seeker Raven!" An eagle-sized black bird appeared in the air where the card had been, cawing and circling overhead as it waited for his order. (400/400) "This creature, when summoned, lets me special summon the other two at the cost of 600 magic points." Two more Seeker Ravens appeared in the air, circling along with the other one. (7400/4500) (400/400)x2

("Damn it, his deck is built perfectly for this situation…he left nothing to chance!") Flair did not feel his resolve waver, but the reality of the situation was slowly crashing in on him. ("Alita cannot die…too much is riding on her safety!")

"Find the girl and then inform me of her location." Asdei watched the three birds fly off over the small town with a smile on his face. "I'll end my turn there. Come on, sealed guardian, show me that your Duel Deck has the power to stand against my precautions."

Eyes narrowed coldly, Flair pulled the top card of his deck free strongly. ("I can't lose here…I mustn't lose here!")

----------------------------

Shoving another hunk of scorched wood out of the way, Alita slowly dug deeper into the pile of rubble that was all that was left of the Refinery. ("That complete idiot, how did he manage to blow up the whole place within less than three seconds?")

The Refinery shouldn't have even been active, and yet somehow he had caused a chain reaction with it in the amount of time it should have taken to even figure out what the machine was. ("It doesn't make any sense at all!")

High above her, a black-feathered form cawed once sharply, and then it dove down at its prey.

------------------------------

Asdei's head turned to the left slightly. "Over there, eh? Good, because I'm getting rather bored with this battle." His second Stone Golem and his other two monsters, a pair of lumbering masses of muscle called Strength Golems, rumbled quietly from their positions in front of him. "These boys agree with me too, you're really boring…"

Asdei- 7400/3600

Flair- 800/100

Blood dripping down his chest and arms, Flair kept his dignity and did not show his pain. ("One more turn…that's the most I've got. He already removed me from the battle, so all I've got is my set card.") His face-down card was Waboku, which would guard him during this turn from the damage that would otherwise kill him.

Asdei drew from his deck…and then winced painfully. "That little bitch, she just killed one of my Ravens!" Eyes twitching in fury, he grabbed one of the cards in his hand when he realized that Flair was laughing at him. "You think that's funny, huh? Eat my killer card, fool!"

-----------------------

Alita tapped her staff against the ground and aimed it at the diving Seeker Raven calmly. "So you're after me, mystery enemy? Then take this! **Wind Arts; Spinning Cutter!**" An explosive crescent went from the green crystal of her staff and slashed the large bird into little pieces that went up in a burst of black flame. "Sorry, but I'm not something which can be easily defeated by the likes of scout monsters."

------------------------

"That's fine," Asdei sneered as he watched the smoking body of Flair slowly fall to the ground, unmoving. "Little girl, as a wind element magician you should know better than to pick fights you can't win!" The portal behind him shimmered and his two Stone Golems disappeared. "Tear her head off."

-------------------------

Alita wasn't very surprised when the two Stone Golems appeared about twenty down the road from her. ("If I was smart I'd run…they're not very fast.") Then she glanced back at the demolished remains of the Refinery and her eyes started watering. "No, I can't run away. It's my fault that wound up here, and it's my fault that he might just be dead. If he's alive though…if that one possibility is true…" She would not run. It was her fault Jason was here, a magic-less person in a place where magic ruled above all things…

One of the two Golems howled and stomped towards her rapidly, feet creating craters in the ground.

"**Wind Arts; Roaring Hurricane!"** The blond-haired girl slammed her staff into the ground and the creature disappeared within a spinning pillar of powerful winds. "Don't underestimate my power, whoever you are!" She shouted this up at the last Seeker Raven, which was out of shooting range.

-----------------------------

"It's useless," Asdei crossed his legs as he sat atop the shoulder of one of his Strength Golems with a sneer on his face. "Wind elements are naturally weak when used against earth element targets, and considering the difference in our power already it means…" His lips curled upwards and he started laughing again.

Flair's face twisted in pain as he tried to revive himself…but it didn't matter. Without his magic power all he had was a weapon that was useless against this enemy. ("Golems…the ultimate constructs that Kyris the Hell employs against his enemies. Those things are naturally resistant to bladed weapons and cutting attacks, the key methods of combat used by samurai class and wind element magicians…")

Their one weakness was their enemy this time, and that meant that all was done for. They were both dead…and he had failed in his mission to protect Alita.

-------------------------------

Alita screamed as the Golem back-handed her into the pile of rubble that Jason was buried somewhere under. ("This is futile, I can't create a wind powerful enough to blow them away or focused enough to cut through their bodies…")

The stone monster pounded its fists together and slowly approached her. _"I commend you for not running, little girl, but this fight is over."_ The voice came from the creature.

"You…you're the one that controls these creatures?" Alita stood up and twirled her staff over her head. **"Wind Arts; Spinning Cutter!"** A crescent of slashing air shot from the crystal of the staff, and was casually blocked by the hard-bodied golem before it continued its approach.

"_That's right,"_ Asdei laughed through the projected voice coming from his creature. _"You cannot hope to win this battle. The element of your opponent makes it strong enough to resist your magic, and on the other hand your power is apparently weak. I don't practice wind magic, but I can tell that your spells are very sloppily formed…such a weak effort."_

Stepping back, Alita growled and clenched her hands tighter around her staff as she charged up her powers even more into the crystal atop the length of wood. "Regardless, I can't run here! My responsibility is under this rubble, and I can't leave him here to die!"

"_Then you're a fool."_ Asdei's Golem continued its approach, crunching some broken glass under one of its feet. _"Your swordsman guardian is already beaten, girl, and while I'm still not sure why Kyris wants you dead I'd have to be crazy not to do it if the opportunity provides itself."_

"Flair…was beaten?" Alita's eyes widened as she remembered what he had told her in the past. ("If he was ever beaten by an enemy, I was supposed to run away as quickly as I could.") It was too late now though. "Don't hurt him…please…"

"_I don't have any intention of killing your caretaker, girl,"_ Asdei snickered coldly. _"Right after I wrap up this business I'm going to infect him with The Hell, and then Kyris will gain another servant."_

His laughter picked up louder and louder as he thought about how much destruction someone as powerful as that swordsman would cause when under the maddening effects of The Hell. _"Flair Tsukimaru will make an excellent servant, and with his defeat it signals the end for you as well!"_ His laughter reached an insane strength.

Alita dropped to her knees, a hopeless look on her face. "No…this can't be the end…"

"I'm trying to sleep!" Suddenly the ground underneath the Golem exploded upwards and Jason stood up slowly from the rubble. "Do you have to be so loud?" Then he blinked and patted his chest a couple of times, coughing from the clouds of dust he created when doing so. "Wow, how'd I get so dirty?"

Alita stared slack-jawed at the young man. "Jason…you're…fine?"

"Yup," Running a hand through his black hair and blanching at the amount of dust his palm came back with on it, he turned to grin at the tearful look on the blond-haired girl's face. "What's the matter, did you think I died?"

"What else was I supposed to think?" She screamed at him. "The store exploded with you in it, idiot!"

"It did?" As if for the first time, Jason noticed the fact he that there was a giant walking pile of stone behind him. "Oh? And what's this thing? A statue?"

"_Insolent bastard, who the hell are you?"_ The Golem roared angrily and pounded its fists together once more.

Jason tugged on the hem of his tunic and sneered. "Who wants to know, blockhead?"

"_You would dare to insult one of my creatures, commoner?"_

"Yeah, I would." Hands resting on his sides, Jason glared at the Golem. "I heard you say something about the ass, what was it?"

"_If you mean Flair Tsukimaru, it's that soon he'll become the servant of Kyris the Hell, and with that the whole of this country will tremble in even more terror than before in the face of our forces!"_ Asdei's monster roared in triumph, mirroring the sense of accomplishment its master was experiencing.

"Sorry, but I can't let that happen." Jason just noticed that he had no pockets, and that was a bit irritating since he had nothing to put his hands in. "After all, that guy and I have a score to settle and I certainly can't let you interfere with that. Guys of no consequence like yourself should just get out of the way."

"_Guys…like yourself…"_ The Golem started to growl angrily, stone fingers burrowing slightly into the dirt. _"You insolent commoner, do you even know who you're talking to?"_

"Nope, and I honestly don't care." Jason turned to look at the terrified look on Alita's face. "What's the matter with you?"

"Have you lost your mind?" She stood up and slapped him in the back of the head. "That guy beat Flair, and you are telling him that he's of no consequence?"

Ignoring the blow, the young man nodded resolutely. "Yup, he doesn't mean a damn thing to me."

Alita gasped and leapt backwards as she saw the Golem approaching rather swiftly. "Look out!" But whether he heard her or not, Jason didn't move at all until the huge monster bounced him off of its shoulder and sent him flying backwards into the wall of the next building.

"_Beware your words, or next time I'll make sure the pain you feel is far beyond what this minor amount can cause."_ Asdei began laughing…until he realized that Jason was still standing.

Brushing himself off, the young man spoke through the spray of blood he was coughing up as his tunic was stained by the wounds caused by his own ribs piercing his muscle and skin. "Like I said, you're of no consequence or importance. If you had been, I wouldn't still be alive."

Eyes trembling, Alita stumbled out of the way as she realized that this guy was truly insane. He had just been dealt a wound that, if not treated, would kill him…and yet here he continued to say that this magician was nothing. ("He really is suicidal…he must want to end his pain here…")

"_Die, you insane pest!"_ The Golem roared and leapt towards Jason rapidly, fist raised to flatten him into paste.

"Your time to kill me is up, buddy." His dusty hair obscuring his eyes, Jason snapped his right hand back and a white-colored Carrier appeared there.

"_Where did that come from?"_ Asdei's voice reflected the surprise that his Golem could not as it continued on its charging course to run the young man down.

"They said to call upon them if I needed them…" Jason's left hand grabbed the top five cards of his Life Deck, two of them disappearing immediately. "Well now's the time to see if that theory works." Then he disappeared as the Golem engulfed him in a powerful bear hug, its massive arms crushing him.

-------------------------------------

Asdei sneered darkly at the image he could see through his portal. "What an idiot. He could have stayed down and lived for a little longer, but instead he had the audacity to tell me that I was of no consequence."

Then he could no longer speak as pain exploded in his ribcage, as if he had been stabbed repeatedly in the chest. ("What…what is this?")

Asdei- 6100/3600

Jason- 6300/5000

--------------------------------------

"That's why I told you," Jason muttered out, the collapsing remains of the Stone Golem still impaled by the rock-hard spikes which had erupted from his arms and had stopped the creature's charge completely. "That you're not important to me. It's because…" His lips curled up to reveal a fang where a normal human's canine tooth would have been. "…I'm not normal anymore." (1500/3000)

"_What…what was that…"_ The second Golem turned to look at the remains of the Refinery, Asdei's pained voice seeming to make the creature's movements rather slow.

Alita looked just as surprised too, her eyes wide as she immediately recognized some rather unique features. ("This form…")

Jason's black hair had been replaced by a grayish-green mane of thick strands of fur. From his back a long spiked tail swept along the ground slowly, digging tears in the dirt below. His fingernails had lengthened into claws, and a series of bony spikes were sticking out of his arms.

"Stonequill…" Alita slowly walked up to Jason. "One of the cards I gave you was a Stonequill, a rare earth element monster Flair and I defeated weeks ago…and that fur…those spikes…"

"Yeah." Jason turned to look at her and smirked, his tail slamming once into the ground and creating a small tremor in the earth below them. "I can't explain it, but it's in me. The other Prize Cards too, all of them have given me their power." The wounds he had suffered were completely gone. "I guess I should have just said so, but I had wanted him to attack me while I was in defense mode and he might not have had he known."

"A Grafter…" Alita's eyes suddenly lit up and she hugged him, being careful not to cut herself on the spikes coming out of his arms. "Amazing, it actually worked! That theory wasn't incorrect, it was spot on!"

"This…" Blushing and rubbing the back of his head a little confusedly, he frowned. "…isn't the reaction I was expecting."

"Well, it's just that I wasn't sure if the theory about such a legendary class was true or not." After getting another confused look from him she stepped back and placed her hands behind her back. "Let me try this again. The theory is that when a Refiner distills the energy from a Prize Card that energy just for a short amount of time retains the essence of the creature it was created from."

"Okay…" Jason was only listening half-heartedly, as this sounded horribly boring.

"A Grafter is someone that is born with no magical power at all and who undergoes the process I had intended for you to undergo in the Refiner, which would have infused you with the essence of one of those five Prize Cards powers." She clasped her hands together, stars reflected in her eyes to show the awe she felt right now. "Instead though you somehow gained all of their powers! That's incredible! And this is just Stonequill's powers too; I can't imagine how you'd look when using the other Prize Cards' powers."

"That's nice," he muttered right before yawning. "Listen, I know that this is incredibly fascinating to you but…" He tapped the Carrier sitting on his right forearm and the two cards pinched carefully in his left hand to avoid piercing them with his claws. "I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"_A defense of 3000, huh?"_ Asdei's Golem started to glow a bright reddish-pink color. _"It's still my battle phase, boy, so I'll activate the technique card Meteor Tackle! This will let my monster double its attack when it attacks a defense mode monster during this turn!"_

Asdei- 6100/3100

Jason- 6300/5000

"Get out of the way, Alita." Jason turned to face the charging Golem with a smirk on his face, his tail swaying behind him slowly. "Bring it on, insignificance."

"_Die, you loud-mouthed fool!"_ The Stone Golem turned into a swollen fireball of pink energy that quickly filled the surrounding area with light of the same color as it prepared to overtake Jason. (3400/2000)

"From my hand I activate the technique card Spike Aura!" Jason held up the card and it dissolved from his grasp. The greenish-grey fur that was his hair suddenly lengthened until it covered him like a cloak. "At the cost of 500 magic points it doubles my defense if I'm in defense mode and am about to attacked!" The strands of his fur suddenly hardened and stood out perfectly straight, a thick protective coat of spikes which surrounded him perfectly. (1500/6000)

"_What?"_ Asdei then screamed as his Golem tackled the young man and immediately shattered.

Asdei- 3700/2700

Jason- 6300/4500

Alita stared in amazement at the crumbling remains of the Golem, and then her head slowly turned to look at Jason. ("This is incredible; he jumped into the battle in Flair's place and is winning just through defense alone…")

Jason's fur returned to normal and he sneered at the pulsing portal that was still in the air. (1500/3000) "Let's wrap this up soon, shall we?"

"_You bastard…come and get me if you're so eager to continue!"_ The portal shuddered and disappeared.

Picking up her staff, Alita wasn't sure what to feel right now. Part of her was afraid because all their hopes now rested on a guy that was apparently suicidal, but the other part of her was absolutely amazed that he had actually become a Grafter like the theory had said. "Jason, can you beat him?"

"What part of 'of no consequence' did you not understand?" And then he started heading towards the direction of the gate near one edge of the town. "Now let's go wrap this up. I've got a score to settle with the ass, and that means I'm going to have to save him."

_To be continued…_


	5. The Frozen Killer

Disclaimer: No I do not own the rules of Yugioh, though Magic Battles are my creation, along with the Life Deck concept. I also own Temarocia, and all the stuff in it.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 5: The Frozen Killer

_Journal of Alita Meijer_

_The power of a Grafter is incredible. I know the legends said that they were one of the rare legendary classes of Adventurer, but even with that in mind I never thought that it was this amazing. Because for as long as it was remembered there was never a person born that had no magic, I didn't think it was possible for a Grafter to exist. Yet Jason proved me wrong._

_I chose Stonequill from amongst the limited Prize Cards we hadn't already sold because of its rather relaxed nature and heavy defense abilities, and it seems that choice has paid off. Thanks to the defensive skills that Stonequill possesses, he's become capable of withstanding the attacks of things as strong as Golems._

_When those Stone Golems attacked him it seemed he was in defense mode, which means that his ability is just like that of a Stonequill…if he is attacked while in defense mode and the opposing monster's attack is weaker than his defense then that monster is destroyed after battle completes. I can't even begin to imagine what other kinds of powers he has in this form._

_Plus he looks so cool! Ever since I was little girl I had been told stories about some of the legendary classes, and the Grafter, a combination of human and monster, was the one that sounded the coolest. And it's true, even when combined with a brutish creature like a Stonequill, Jason looks so…_

---------------------------

"Hey," Jason muttered as he watched Alita nearly trip on a rock and hurt herself while writing in a large leather-bound book. "What the heck are you writing?"

"Oh!" Stumbling over the piece of debris, the blond-haired girl dropped the book and fell face-first to the ground. "Ummm…" Sitting up, she grabbed the heavy tomb and closed it swiftly. "Nothing at all!"

"…." Shrugging, Jason turned and continued his slow walk towards the location of the smoke in the sky while drawing another card from his deck, making the number of cards in his hand six. ("I've got the feeling that someone is plotting against me. It's probably whoever this creep is.")

---------------------------

Asdei screamed in frustration and drew another card from his deck, the six cards now in his hand showing that he didn't have anything that could easily counter this newcomer's abilities. ("A Grafter. I didn't realize it at first, but that man is a Grafter! That's fine though, because Grafter's are easy to counter once you know what creature they are spiritually bonded with.")

A slow sneer crossed his face as he recalled the name of the creature. ("Stonequill, an omnivore from outside this country that is known for its docile cow-like nature when not irritated. Such a harmless monster makes a pitiful defensive combination when used in a Grafter, if that man's skills were any indication.")

He could easily use the cards in his hand to set such a weak and close-range monster type up for defeat. "Come, mysterious fool, and meet your end against my magic."

Flair, deep in his meditative trance, continued the slow process of breaking the Magic Plague that was preventing him from accessing his full power. ("Alita, please still be alive when I awaken. I am no good to you as I am at this moment, so I have no choice but to hope that you got away safely.")

-----------------------

"How did you suddenly learn to summon a Carrier like that?" Alita skipped in front of Jason and turned so she was looking him in the face while walking backwards.

"I just did, I can't explain it because I don't understand how I know it either." He lifted up his right arm and ran the fingers of his left hand over the spikes emerging from his arms. "All I know is that this is my power now."

"Is that so?" She sighed sadly and turned around so she was no longer facing him. Her arms went up over her head. "You know, Jason, if you want to be a member of an Adventurer Party like ours then you have to possess a certain level of knowledge about your own skills. Regardless of how powerful you are at the moment, if you don't understand how your abilities work then your overall strength is at the very least halved."

"Yeah, I get that." He rested a hand over the opposite shoulder and started stretching the arm attached to that joint out calmly. "Except I don't intend to join your crew."

"You don't?" She smiled slyly. "I see, so you intend to go out on your own in the world and try to be your own man?"

"Psh, that just sounds retarded." He cracked his neck one direction, and then the other. "I'm going with you guys, but you're becoming part of my crew…not the other way around."

"…" Alita's right eye twitched in a fashion similar to how his had acted once before. "You want to lead us? Do you think I'm just going to step down as leader for you?"

"Nope," He smiled coldly, one of his fangs glittering in the reddish light that was bathing the silent town. "You're more than welcome to fight me over it, but I don't bow my head to anybody I don't respect. While I owe ya for what I've got up to this point, that ain't enough to earn my respect."

"You're stupid," she commented before looking away from him and breaking into a cold sweat. ("He wants to fight me? There's no way I could win against a Grafter!")

A playful smile crossed his face and he walked past her briskly. "I can smell your fear. Relax, I don't intend to fight you unless you really would have wanted it."

"Who said I was worried?" Alita silently thanked the heavens right before the smell of smoke filled her nostrils. "We're here."

"Yup." Walking out onto the main street of the town, Jason's tail dragged behind him on the ground as he walked towards the shattered town gate and Asdei, who was sitting atop the shoulder of one of the Strength Golems. "So you're the guy?"

"That I am." The red-eyed magician sneered at the young Grafter. "It's surprising to run into a legendary class Adventurer here, but it doesn't matter now. My strategy to defeat you is complete. Are you ready?"

"Sure," Jason returned the sneer with one of his own. "For you to beat the Ass it means you're pretty strong…"

"Strong doesn't even begin to describe my power!" Asdei grabbed a card from his hand and pointed up at the third and final of his Seeker Ravens, which was circling in the sky high above. "I sacrifice this creature to summon my Unlock Golem!" A strangely angular metal humanoid appeared behind his two Strength Golems. (1300/1300) "When this monster is summoned I may sacrifice a monster on my field to force all monsters on your field into attack mode. They cannot switch back to defense mode, so your defensive strategy is now useless!"

"Like I give a damn." Jason glanced back at Alita. "Go drag the Ass out of the way, I'll cover you." His green eyes turned to meet the bloody red ones of Asdei. "Alright then insignificance, let's see what you've got." (1500/3000)

"With pleasure, annoying fool!" Asdei pointed at him. "Go now, my Strength Golems. Crush him with your might!" The two fleshy creatures bellowed and charged as he leapt off the shoulder of the one he had been riding on. (2000/2000)x2

Asdei- 3700/2400

Jason- 6300/4500

Jason sneered at the two monsters. "These kinds of things don't mean much to me! From my hand I activate the technique card Rock Grave at the cost of 400 magic points!" The card he was holding disappeared and his tail struck the ground with enough force to create a tear in the earth directly beneath one of the charging Golems, pulling it out sight. "This card activates when you attack, allowing me to destroy that attacking monster!"

Asdei- 3700/2400

Jason- 6300/4100

"What a waste of effort and time." Asdei snapped his fingers and the hole his Golem had fallen into erupted upwards into a torrent of dust as the creature emerged. "Once per game I may cut the original attack of a Strength Golem in half to save it from destruction!" (1000/2000)

"Not half bad of a save, but so what?" Jason snapped up another card as the second Golem reached him. "I activate the technique card Rock Hurl at the cost of 300 magic points!" The selected card disappeared and he pushed his free hand into the ground, pulling out a boulder from underneath the ground nearly as big as himself. "One monster on the field switches modes and you take 500 points of damage!"

"I pay 400 magic points to negate the physical damage!" Then Asdei was sliding backwards as a barrier appeared in front of him and stopped the approach of his Strength Golem, which had taken the boulder to the chest and had been sent back to him.

Asdei- 3200/2000

Jason- 6300/3800

"I'm not beaten yet!" Stepping past his fallen monster, Asdei grabbed two cards from his hand and they burned away. "I discard two cards to bring myself to this battle, since you seem so focused on defeating me personally!" (1200/1200) "For every Golem in play under my control my attack rises by 500 points!" (2700/1200)

Alita stood up with the unconscious Flair still resting on her shoulder while keeping her eyes on the battle. ("This is amazing…this battle is something beyond what I could have imagined I'd ever see.")

Asdei held up his free hand, which was burning with crackling bolts of red fire and lightning. "Are you ready to die, fool?"

Still sneering, Jason cracked his knuckles and waited patiently for his opponent to attack. "Come on then, come and get me."

Asdei whispered a few words to himself and an explosion of fire and lightning shot from his hand, roaring across the street towards Jason rapidly. "This battle is beyond your experience and your skill level, boy!"

Jason's face scrunched up a little. "Another guy that likes to call me boy…damn it, I guess I can't play around too much or else you'll be calling me that for the rest of your soon-to-be-ended life." Then he took the blast of magical power to the chest, sliding backwards rapidly as the flames and lightning seared his flesh and darkened the spines on his arms.

Asdei- 3200/2000

Jason- 5100/3300

("He didn't expend magic points to protect himself from the actual damage?") Asdei's sneer grew. "What a foolish choice. What good will those magic points do you if you're dead, boy!" Then one of the cards in his hand was flipped up into the air, where it dissolved away. "At the cost of 500 magic points I activate the technique card that is my ultimate attack spell, Dry Lightning! It will raise my attack power by 1500 for the turn and let me attack once more!"

Asdei- 3200/1500

Jason- 5100/3300

Jason slid back rapidly as he took a torrent of red lightning and flames to the chest, the stream of magical power coming from Asdei's hand growing stronger and stronger as the technique card took effect. His teeth were ground together, and his tail was trying to keep him supported by pushing itself roughly into the earth.

Asdei- 3200/1500

Jason- 2400/2900

"Jason!" Alita, hiding at the edge of an alley with Flair on the ground behind her, stared in fear as she watched the lightning clear away to reveal the new Grafter badly burned and smoldering all over because of the damage from the Magician's attack. ("That kind of spell is a combination of both flame and lightning, two very destructive elements that do not normally combine with effective results…so for this man to combine them means that he is very skilled.") Could Jason win this fight, especially after sustaining such heavy damage?

Asdei threw back his head and started laughing wildly. "You actually took my Dry Lightning directly without using your magic power to guard against it? That mistake just ended this battle! Did you actually think that you could take my attack and not suffer because of it? What a fool you are!"

Jason's arms dangled limply at his sides, his body wavering back and forth slowly with smoke rising from the blackened section of skin that was most of the front of his chest.

"Shut up!" Alita shouted at the top of her lungs. "You're far more of a fool then anyone else here! How could you serve someone like Kyris the Hell willingly? Don't you know of the list of atrocities such an evil man has committed?"

"Of course I know." Asdei continued to laugh. "That's why I serve him! The Hell is a plague he created which increases the power of those who receive it at the cost of their sanity, though the results do tend to vary. For those with strong wills, like myself, there is almost no loss whatsoever. Remember that lesson well, little girl. Power is what makes this world turn, and that determines who rules over whom, it is a fact of life!"

"You're wrong!" Her hands clenched tightly around the shaft of her staff, the green crystal at the end of it pulsing with energy. "Power isn't everything!"

"If you've got that kind of outlook, Alita," Jason whispered out, his shoulders heaving slowly as he struggled to draw in air. "Then I'm not so sure that I want to make you a member of my crew. Power is what makes the world turn, that's not an issue up to debate."

"What are you talking about?" She couldn't believe that such words were coming from this man, who had just saved her too…

"It's nice to see at least one of you has some measure of common sense." Asdei held up his right hand to show off the pulsing aura of red lightning and fire that surrounded it. "Those with power rule with an iron fist, and cannot be opposed…who would want to be anything else?"

"You're just as full of crap as she is though," Jason brushed his fur back and popped his back, the damage from his wounds ignored. "Power is merely a means to an end. Those who have it and those who don't have it don't matter if they don't put it to good use. That's why you're an insignificant piece of trash I need to clean up."

Asdei's face contorted in rage at being called that insulting word again. "Even now you continue to spout that word! I've badly injured you as well, so how dare you call me insignificant!"

"It's not my fault that what makes you mad happens to also be the truth," Jason's cracked his knuckles, a calm and rather emotionless look on his face. "I'll show you right now that difference between you and me."

"You're injured by my attacks and from the looks of it you won't be able to fight properly. Combining that with the fact that your defensive power is sealed just what can you do?" Asdei looked like ready to snap, his anger at its fullest. "What insanity do you possess that would make you think you can oppose me?"

"It's called common sense and a pair of stones, something you lack." He drew from his Life Deck and held up a different card. "At the cost of 500 magic points I activate Graft Metamorphosis, discarding all cards in my hand and then removing all techniques of one element from my deck and graveyard from the game. I choose Earth." A lack series of cards disappeared from the deck. "Then I shuffle my graveyard back into my deck and draw a number of cards equal to the number I had in my hand." Four cards left his deck.

Asdei- 3200/1500

Jason- 2400/2400

"You removed all Earth techniques from your graveyard…why?" Asdei didn't see the tactical advantage in doing such a thing. "Your Graft is with an earth creature, therefore by removing all of your earth element techniques you've merely weakened yourself!"

"I just wanted to change things up a bit…and show you my resolve to defeat you." Jason smiled savagely and disappeared within a pulsing blast of blue energy.

Alita stared at the swirling aura in front of her with complete awe. ("That energy could only be…")

"Another Graft? That's impossible, Grafters are supposed to have only one spiritual fusion!" Asdei's eyes widened as the aura dropped to reveal his new opponent.

Jason's hair had turned a shade of icy blue-white, his eyes changing to a similar color as well. His body up to his neck was covered by a skin-tight blue and white streaked layer of something similar to leather, except it was extremely shiny. A pair of curved blades emerged from his forearms, and his now much-paler face had a pair of strange fang-shaped marks on its cheeks. (1600/900)

("He…changed Grafts?") Asdei had never seen a Grafter before, but for such a thing to be possible…it shouldn't have been.

Jason lifted up one hand slowly, looking at the shiny material that covered him now. "I don't know why you seem so surprised, Alita." He turned to look at her coolly, his voice deathly calm now. "Or did you forget that you gave me five cards?"

("That's right,") She thought. ("And that form could only be the representation of the power of the killer of the depths…") Stonequill had been a fairly docile creature, but this one was another matter entirely.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you changed forms, I'll still defeat you!" Asdei grabbed a card from his hand. "Those arm-blades of yours can't reach me before I use this, my second killer card, to wipe you out!"

"Arm-blades?" Jason's head tilted just enough so that one ice-blue eye could look at the red-eyed magician. "These are fins, dork." His left hand lifted up slowly, a card pinched in his grasp. "That's not this form fights." The card shattered like a pane of glass as a pulsing blue-white bullet of energy exploded from his palm and covered the distance between them almost instantly.

Asdei screamed in surprise and pain as the bullet slammed into his hand that was holding all of his cards and encased it in a hunk of ice which instantly replaced all feeling there with a freezing numbness.

Sweat still dripping down her forehead, Alita could only tremble in excitement and fear at the sight of this form. ("The Subzero Shark, a deadly predator of the icy world of Temarocia that produces a powerful poison which can instantly freeze anything it comes in contact with…") That was a card she had received as a payment for a mission, so she had never encountered the creature on her own. After that little demonstration though she understood why sailors were afraid to aggravate such creatures when they sailed the frozen areas of the world.

Jason coldly watched as Asdei attempted to melt the ice with the fire and lightning coming from his other hand. "It's useless. I activated the spell card Cold Drift which remains in play and prevents you from activating cards from your hand during my turn."

Asdei- 3200/1500

Jason- 2400/2000

("Terrifying…it's terrifying how cold he is acting…") Alita wanted to say something to get his attention, to ask him if he was alright. However every time she tried it felt as if she was about to perform suicide. ("It's because of how he is acting. A Subzero Shark is a dangerous creature because they are known to kill first and think about their actions later…if I get his attention I may wind up dead.")

Asdei hissed in pain as the numbness started to creep up his arm. ("Damn him, I will kill him!")

"I activate the spell card Flow of the Ocean's Waters." The air around them both grew rather cold. "While this card remains in play we each draw two cards during our opponent's standby phases."

Asdei- 3200/1500

Jason- 2400/1800

Jason grabbed another of his cards without hesitation, his movement fluid now. "I activate the technique card Cold Poison Mist, which allows me to attack all monsters on your field except that all damage I deal during this turn is zero." The card froze and shattered while the air around the street grew murky as a white mist formed.

"What's the point…" Asdei bit back another scream as the numbing pain spread farther up his arm. "If your attacks deal zero damage then you're just wasting your time!"

"Am I really?" The icy predator fusion motioned to the Golems, all of which suddenly stopped moving and started icing over. "Any monster I attack and do not destroy gains a Cold Poison Counter, which prevents it from attacking or switching modes. Also, when it is targeted by any of the opponent's effects or attackers it is automatically destroyed."

Asdei could no longer move, his body completely frosted over. A few puffs of hot air came from his open mouth, and his enraged blood-red eyes locked onto the Grafter as if to say that he would be dead very soon.

Asdei- 3200/1500

Jason- 2400/1500

Jason held up the last card in his hand. "And now the last effect of my killing combination. I activate the technique card Cold Touch. This card lets me first select one card in play, after which other effects may activate during this card's selection moment. If that selected card still remains in play after the open moment, then that card is given a Cold Poison Counter and is sealed. If the card is no longer in play then I select a new target."

"A new target…" Alita realized why that card actually existed. ("Subzero Sharks are said to fire their poison through the water and even through air to freeze it solid and then shatter the prey with a swipe of their tails, after which they consume the icy pieces.")

Asdei could only continue his bloody glare as Jason calmly walked up to the first of the three Golems and punched it, the creature shattering instantly. Like some kind of chain reaction the other two Golems followed, leaving him alone on the field. (1200/1200)

Jason stopped right in front of the frozen magician and cocked back his fist. "Three successful destructions, let's see if we can go for four." Then he threw his whole body into the strike and sent Asdei hurtling into the ruined remains of the town gate, the icy exterior cracking around his body and freeing him instantly. "Nope, I guess you got to survive because of your ability as an Avatar…a shame."

Asdei- 3200/1100

Jason- 2400/1400

"That's right, foolish boy," Asdei slowly stumbled to his feet and sneered weakly. "I cannot be defeated that easily!"

"And now for the battle phase…" Jason faded away and appeared behind the magician, landing a crushing sidekick to his skull and sending him flying into nearest building.

Asdei- 2800/300

Jason- 2400/1400

"I suppose I'll end it there." Jason didn't sound happy or confident, all there was to his voice was the same icy cold that his cards had created in the surroundings.

Alita shivered and hugged her cloak closer around her body. ("Is it the Shark or is it Jason that is so calm? Wouldn't he be acting all high and mighty like he was before?")

Asdei stumbled out of the remains of the building, blood dripping down his still-sneering face. "I want you to die so badly right now. In fact, I'm willing to risk it all to make sure you are killed." He drew from his deck at the same time that Jason drew two cards. "That damn card effect of yours won't matter when I'm done! I activate this, the most dangerous and powerful technique that Kyris gives only his highest officers!" The card disappeared and his body suddenly exploded in a violent blast of bloody energy, wounds tearing open across his flesh. "This is the power of The Hell's Chosen, which lets me sacrifice all but one life point and convert it to my magic points!"

Asdei- 1/3099

Jason- 2400/1400

"And with it," He grabbed another card and it disappeared. "I can activate Restrictive Bonding!" Lightning exploded around Jason's body, forming a pulsing network of electric strands. "At the cost of a number of magic points equal to the target's attack I can prevent that target from doing anything…in other words you are completely sealed!"

Asdei- 1/1499

Jason- 2400/1400

Jason did not move at all, his face still as still as death.

"And that's not all either!" The blood pooling at his feet didn't matter anymore. Asdei was ready to end this with his killer spell. "I activate the spell card Dry Lightning Storm, which can activate if I'm in play! For every card in my graveyard you take 200 points of damage! I have twenty in my grave, so this is the end!" An aura of crackling electricity powered up around his ravaged body.

"Jason!" Alita stood up, her fear forgotten. If he was defeated by a member of Kyris the Hell's group then he would become infected with The Hell, and would turn into a madman like Asdei. "You can't lose here! Fight!"

"It's useless, I've sealed his movements!" Throwing back his head, the red-eyed magician drank in the delicious feeling that would come with the defeat of this insolent fool. "Legendary Grafter or not, he cannot oppose me if he cannot move!"

"You said," Jason's jaw slowly moved as he spoke, sounding as if he was forcing himself to talk. "That you would risk your life on defeating me…"

"That's right," Asdei sneered through the bloody wounds that covered him from head to toe. "I will put it all on the line to crush my enemies!"

"Then you and I share one thing in common." Suddenly the lightning around him fizzled away. "We both gamble our lives to win our battles."

"That cannot be possible…you…you…" Arms trembling, Asdei looked like his dwindling sanity was about to disappear. "How are you able to move?"

"From my hand I activated the technique card Hunter Scan, which negated your spell card in counter." Jason turned to completely face the magician. "The big difference between you and me though is that I actually have the strength to back up my words, while you…" The remaining card in his hand disappeared and the mist around them grew much deeper, completely stealing all sight of them.

A roaring scream echoed through the thick white cloud and a giant icy tail could be seen thrashing from the top of the mist before disappearing from sight. Jason emerged from the mist a minute later, his expression still deathly peaceful. "…are dead."

Asdei- 0/699

Jason- 2400/100

The mist parted slowly to reveal a large snake-shaped block of blood-red ice where Asdei had been, a few pieces of torn cloth trapped within the unclear crimson surface of the sculpture.

-----------------------------

_Far away…_

-----------------------------

Insane laughter filtered through the ruined throneroom of Kyris the Hell. "I never knew that Grafters were so artistic too!" The voice's laughter grew stronger and sounded even more mentally unstable. "I wonder if I can recruit somebody like that to my service."

"It would be a mere matter of defeating him with one of our other men. Asdei was a fool for trying to take on such an opponent." The other voice was far more cultured, and much older than the first. "Master Kyris, would you like me to send some of our men?"

"Are you crazy?" The shadowed form of Kyris waved his arms in the air excitedly. "That would be so absolutely boring! No, send that really strong guy we recruited a couple of days ago."

"Him?" The elder voice sounded a bit worried now. "But Master Kyris, that one is extremely violent and dangerous…can we trust him to get the job done?"

"Oh yeah," Kyris sounded perfectly content. "That guy was pretty wimpy until you beat him, but when you took him down he suddenly became really strong. I want to see what he can do, so definitely send him out!"

"As you wish, Master Kyris."

-------------------

_Floors below…_

-------------------

A scream of rage shook the dungeon and a series of craters appeared in a stone wall rather rapidly. "I'll kill you all! Send me home now!" A pair of blood-red eyes lit up in the darkness of the lightless area. "Do you hear me?" The sound of blood dripping could be heard.

_To be continued…_


	6. Across the Country

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 6: Across the Country

_The beautiful holy city of magic, Mudeia, surrounded on one side by the Lake of the Five Kings, and on the other side are the beautiful meadows which grow some of the most fragrant and delightful flowers in all of Temarocia. As I sit here on my rock, listening to the howls of the wild monsters and animals of the far-off forest, I wonder just what kind of worlds beyond this one there are. What about the future? If technology continues to improve at the amazing rate it has been moving towards, will we still be able to keep this amazing feel of nature?_

The writer gently lowered his quill pen and looked up, eyes going towards the forest in the not-too-far away distance. "Oh, it seems that we have a traveler arriving."

"I was wondering what someone would be doing outside of the city walls," The speaker was a man wearing a heavy cloak to hide his face from the bright light of the sun. "And now I see that it someone trying to skip out on their work. Well then, perhaps you can tell me how to get inside Mudeia, good sir?"

"How to get inside?" Slipping the quill pen behind one ear, the writer straightened his glasses on his nose and tried to peer under the man's cloak with his chocolate-brown eyes. "You're just supposed to use the main gate and check in like everyone else is supposed to."

"As much as I wish I could do something like that," The man's hand reached up and pulled his hood away to reveal the flowing waves of his blond hair…and his blood-red eyes. "My master has informed me that if I cannot find my way in without being detected that I am to start a ruckus and bring out the guardians of Mudeia."

His faded red hair messily flattened to his head, the writer's already disheveled look turned to one of complete surprise and fear as he realized who this was. "You're one of the wanted criminal Adventurers following Kyris the Hell, Riju the Lord of Explosive Dragons!"

"That's very kind of you to know my name." The man bowed slightly, sneering at the fearful look on the other man's face. "It's a shame though that I'll have to kill you. Might I know your name before I follow through with this rather unpleasant action, good sir?" The dragon master lifted up one hand, blue lightning crackling along the arcs of his fingers.

Eyes still trembling, the disheveled writer slid off of the rock he had been using as a seat in the middle of the flower-filled meadow and closed the book he had been writing in. "My name is Kaigen, but that doesn't matter! I'll go call the guards right now and…" His eyes widened as a bolt of lightning shot past his face and crashed into the ground nearby, sending a fountain of dirt up into the air.

"That would be very troublesome for me, so I cannot let you do that." Riju's hands crackled with more of the destructive element he had just hurled. "By Kyris' order you must die because you are enough of a fool to think that being outside this gate is something that any book-worm can do."

"So that's how it's going to be, is it?" Kaigen frowned and a beaten-up bronze-plated Carrier appeared around his arm. "Then I have no choice but to challenge you to a duel, Riju the Lord of Explosive Dragons!"

"A duel?" A low chuckle came from the fair-skinned man and a Carrier appeared around his arm. "Very well then, I shall take this challenge from you because it seems that you've got at least a little bit of magical power that can be used in one form or another."

"If you get to those gates then people may die, so I'll do the best I can to stop you despite whatever purpose you may have for being here!" Kaigen had no Life Deck in his Carrier, indicating that he wasn't an Adventurer.

Riju brushed back the long locks of his flowing golden hair, his red eyes showing that he was amused by this turn of events. "We came to Mudeia expecting to cause a bit of destruction and remind the citizens of this country that Kyris the Hell owns their lives, but it seems that I'll also get to crush a little nuisance while I'm at it."

Kaigen readjusted his glasses nervously, hands trembling and barely hanging onto the cards he had drawn from the dueling deck in his beaten old Carrier. "I…I won't back down! I said I would stop you from reaching those gates and that's what I will do!"

"That's why you're a fool!" The servant of The Hell drew five cards from his Duel Deck. "You don't even have a Life Deck, which means that you're not even an Adventurer, yet you would oppose us? Very well, let me show why you commoners should not oppose Kyris! I'll even be kind enough not to crush you under my heel with my Life Deck, despite the fact that I'm rather agitated by your mere prescense."

Riju- 8000/11000

Kaigen- 8000/500

"Prepare yourself for death!" Riju drew one card from his deck and added it to his hand before grabbing a card and throwing it in front of him. "I summon Troop Dragon in defense mode!" A humanoid dragon wearing patchwork armor appeared in front of him, kneeling on a card. (700/800) "Also I set one card face-down and end my turn." A card appeared behind his creature. "Well then, soon-to-be-dead commoner, it's your turn."

"R…right…" Hands still trembling, Kaigen pulled one card off of his deck and gasped in surprise at what he had pulled. "Wow, I got this good of a card so quickly…" Another card was thrown from his hand up into the air, and from it emerged a blast of gray light. "I'll summon Future Hero Hoverman in attack mode!" A metal-covered warrior armored from head to toe in powerful cybernetic plating appeared on his field, floating in the air by the jetpack it had attached.. (1000/1000)

"Future Hero?" Riju lifted an eyebrow at the summoned monster. "What kind of strange creature is that?"

Kaigen ignored him and, hands still shaking, pointed at the Troop Dragon. "Hoverman, attack his monster now!" The superhero monster dove downwards and kicked through the dragon, shattering it with one hit.

"Your efforts are useless!" Riju's Duel Deck started to glow and another Troop Dragon appeared on his field in defense mode. (700/800) "The power of my dragon special summons another of itself when it is defeated!"

"It does?" Kaigen, his glasses slipping to the tip of his nose, blinked at the creature a couple of times. "Oh man, I messed up…end turn." Then he looked at his hand and his jaw dropped. "Ah, I forgot to set this card!" Sweating profusely, he clasped his hands together pleadingly at the red-eyed dragon-master. "Please let me set it?"

"Not a chance, you ended your turn already." Drawing from his Duel Deck, Riju sneered and held up a magic card. "I activate the magic card Silent Prayer, allowing me to revive one effect monster from my graveyard to the field in defense mode." His first Troop Dragon appeared in play alongside the first. (700/800)

"And then from my hand I activate the magic card Draw Bomb." A glint of light came from one of his teeth as he smiled. "This card destroys one monster on my field, after which I draw a card and deal you 500 points of damage." One of his two Troop Dragons exploded. "And don't forget the effect of my monster!" A new Troop Dragon appeared in play in defense mode. (700/800)

Kaigen screamed as he was engulfed by a burning blast of fire, his baggy clothing billowing slightly in the dry heat.

Riju- 8000/11000

Kaigen- 7500/500

"You're rather weak." Riju motioned to his set card. "I activate Call of the Haunted, reviving my Troop Dragon in attack mode!" The third of the three warrior dragons appeared on his field. (700/800) "If something like my Draw Bomb card actually hurt you, then this duel will be over very quickly!"

"Regardless…" Kaigen struggled to regain his breath. "I can't back down…"

"I wouldn't let you even if you wanted to!" The dragon master held up another magic card and his three Troop Dragons exploded. "I activate the magic card Ultimate Sacrifice Summon, which lets me tribute three monsters on my field to special summon a monster from my deck regardless of summoning requirements!" A pillar of fire erupted from the meadow at his feet, the flames searing away the grass there and burning the ground bare.

A pair of molten-red wings emerged from the dirt, a giant skeletal dragon head dripping lava appearing on the field and quickly being followed by the rest of the dragon. (1900/1900) "This is my Magma Explosion Dragon, a ritual monster that normally costs ten levels worth of monster sacrifices to summon. Thanks to Ultimate Sacrifice Summon though, I've been able to call it out without any problem."

"That's huge…" Kaigen could only stare at the towering monster in fear, his legs shaking. "I don't think I can beat something that powerful…"

"Magma Explosion Dragon, crush his monster now!" Riju's monster unleashed a powerful jet of lava from its jaws that enveloped Hoverman and burned it to ash instantly.

Riju- 8000/11000

Kaigen- 6700/500

Kaigen screamed as the flames from the monster's explosive attack hit him, swallowing him up within a tornado of heat.

"This is pitiful, we've just started and you're already screaming for mercy." Riju snapped his hand up and his dragon started to charge up another attack. "I set one card face-down and end my turn, at which time the effect of my Magma Explosion Dragon deals you 2000 points of damage thanks to its effect!"

Kaigen's screams grew louder as the tornado turned into a pillar, and then into a fountain as the dragon added to the already incredible amount of heat it had created.

Riju- 8000/11000

Kaigen- 4700/500

"What now?" The dragon master crossed his arms across his chest. "The power of my dragon seems to already have you beaten. I didn't even have to involve myself in this battle."

"It's my turn, draw." The fire died down to reveal a blackened Kaigen, his brown eyes trembling behind his ash-layered glasses. In his hand was a card he had drawn from his Duel Deck. "Despite your awesome power, I can't run from this duel. If I do then lots of people will die. Therefore I have to fight!"

"That's fine with me, as it seems that you are a bit more determined to win now." Riju ran a hand through the locks of his hair. "Do your best I suppose, trash."

Kaigen threw a card in front of him and it exploded into the shape of a crouching humanoid holding a heavy golden shield in front of it. "I summon Mudeia Gardna in defense mode and set one card face-down. End turn." (700/1900)

"Draw!" Riju drew another card from his Duel Deck and added it to his hand. "You're trying my patience with these pitiful attempts at defense. It seems I have no choice but to crush you beneath my heel quickly!" He held up a magic card. "I activate the magic card Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three cards and then discard two." Three cards left his Life Deck and he added them to his hand before discarding two of his Duel Deck cards to the graveyard slot.

Kaigen gulped loudly. "You're drawing from your Life Deck?"

"That's right." Still sneering deeply, Riju discarded two cards. "I discard two cards from my hand to summon myself to this battle!" (800/800) "While I am in play with a dragon type monster you cannot attack me, and all magic cards that target dragon type monsters on my field are negated." He lifted up his hand and a powerful lightning erupted to life along his fingers. "And now I'll clear away your defense with this spell, Wind Arts; Enveloping Storm!" A powerful twirl of wind hit the Mudeia Gardna and it was forced to its feet. "This spell switches the mode of a monster on your field at the cost of 200 magic points! Now take this, Magma Explosion!"

Kaigen's eyes widened from behind his glasses as he was slammed into by another roaring torrent of fire that came from the Magma Explosion Dragon, the same blast also doing away with his monster.

Riju- 8000/10800

Kaigen- 3500/500

"And now for my direct attack!" The dragon master hurled a crackling blast of lightning that slammed into the other man's chest and dropped him to his knees.

Riju- 8000/10800

Kaigen- 2700/500

"One last thing…" Riju turned his back to the smoldering man. "I end my turn." Another scream pierced the air as Kaigen was enveloped by the destructive power of the Magma Explosion Dragon's effect.

Riju- 8000/10800

Kaigen- 700/500

"This sad little skirmish is over." Riju glanced behind him at the blazing inferno where Kaigen had been. "You can't possibly still be alive, so I'll just assume that's the end of you. It was a good battle, and you did rather well to have lasted so long, but that's all. In the end you cannot compare to one such as myself, who is amongst the lieutenants of Kyris the Hell."

"I see…" The smoke cleared to reveal Kaigen, uninjured. His brown eyes shimmered past the low-hanging lenses of his glasses, which rested at the tip of his nose. "So there is no way to end this battle without bloodshed?"

"What are you talking about?" The dragon master sneered coldly. "I was quite open with my intentions since the very start!"

"That you were." Kaigen drew from his deck, the burn patches on his ragged clothing already extinguished. "Then I suppose I have no choice but to make sure that the only blood shed in this battle with yours." He added the card to his hand, the waver of his voice completely gone. "From my hand I play the magic card Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and then discarding two!" His hands were moving quicker now, his eyes barely looking at the cards he was drawing before he discarded two. "This is where the real duel begins, Riju of the Explosive Dragons."

("What's with this guy?") The dragon master suddenly could see the determination burning in the eyes of Kaigen. ("Where is all of this sudden strength coming from?")

"From my hand I activate the magic card Revitalization of Babylon, which allows me to select up to two monsters from my graveyard that have been destroyed as a result of battle and add them to my hand!" Two cards left his graveyard and he shuffled them together with the rest of his hand cards. "After the cards enter my hand one card I'm holding is discarded at random!" A single card disappeared from his grasp.

"Whatever you do won't change the result of this battle!" Riju motioned to his Magma Explosion Dragon. "This creature can easily defeat you during the next turn!"

"Then I'll have to clear it away before I can defeat you!" Kaigen held up a card and it disappeared in a flash of light. "I activate the magic card Calling Horn of Mudeia, letting me add one Mudeia named beast, warrior, or spellcaster type monster from my deck to my hand!" A card left his deck and he threw it out in front of him. "Come out now, Mudeia Royal Guard!" A towering golden knight appeared on his field, its massive sword and shield held in front of it defensively. (1800/1800)

"Another Mudeian card?" Riju scoffed. "Do they just casually hand out such cards to their citizens?"

"Don't speak badly of this place." Kaigen pointed at his monster. "The effect of Royal Guard, when it is summoned, lets me discard any number of warrior monsters from my hand to the graveyard. For every one discarded it gains 500 attack points." Three cards faded from his hand. (3300/1800) "Attack the dragon now!"

Riju grunted as his dragon was suddenly cut in half. "I pay 400 magic points to negate the physical damage to myself!"

Riju- 6600/10400

Kaigen- 700/500

"That's fine." A card appeared alongside his other set card. "I set one more card face-down and end my turn."

"Draw!" The dragon master drew from his Duel Deck and slid the card into his graveyard after drawing it. "I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my Life Deck."

Kaigen's serious composure suddenly broke as he winced at his opponent's draw. "Ow, you actually managed to pull that card when your hand was completely gone? Wow, what a guy…" Rubbing the top of his head, he looked absolutely bewildered.

"Why are you so surprised by my drawing of such a common card?" Riju grabbed one of the two cards he had drawn.

"I'm surprised because I can't believe you're this serious…" Sighing quietly and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the man started ruffling up his own hair. He wasn't even paying attention to his opponent. "Oh well, you may as well discard one of those two."

"What was that you murmured?" The dragon master gasped in surprise at one of the two cards that activated on his opponent's field. "Balance Draw…you had that card set face-down?"

"That's right. When you would draw cards from an effect I can cut that number in half and draw the half number if I have no cards in hand." Kaigen had yet to draw though, his hands still ruffling up his hand and covering his face.

"Now you're not even paying attention to me, huh?" Riju returned one of the two cards in his hand to the top of his Life Deck and held up the other one. "I activate Wind Arts; Obliterating Lightning Bolt! At the cost of 400 magic points I can destroy one attack mode monster on your field!" A lightning bolt fell from the sky and destroyed the Royal Guard. "This is where your life ends!"

Riju- 6600/10000

Kaigen- 700/500

"Not quite." Kaigen's other set card flipped up. "I activate the trap card Squall of Feathers. If Elemental Hero Featherman is in my graveyard I may remove it to prevent you from attacking during this turn."

"Damn it, you're only delaying the inevitable." Riju dropped his hands to his sides. "I end my turn for now then. During the next turn though I will crush you fully."

"There isn't going to be a next turn." The red-haired man gently lowered his hands, having removed his glasses in the process and allowing his eyes to fully shine in the light of the bright sun above. "Or have you not realized yet the difference in our power?"

"The difference…in our…" Right eye twitching in fury, the dragon master lifted one hand and started to charge up a lightning bolt. "I'll kill you right this instant, you insolent commoner!"

"Commoner?" Kaigen drew from his deck, his hair now standing in a slightly pointed position atop his head. In a way, he seemed to be an almost completely different person than just moments before. He looked composed, calm, and fearless. "Mudeia will not fall."

"What will you do to stop us?" Riju pointed at the towering pillars of the pure white city behind Kaigen. "That place is not a place fit for warriors, and it will be torn down when Kyris finally decides he has grown weary of the hope it gives the people of this country!"

"Is that so?" A voice called out, revealing that there had been two other men standing on the rock directly behind Kaigen this whole time. "Sorry to inform you of this but if the best Kyris has to offer is the likes of you then the chances of you conquering Mudeia are zero."

"And just who are you?" The dragon master glared at the two behind his opponent.

From next to the first speaker the other one tapped the butt of his staff against the slab of rock beneath him. "We are the heroes of this country's people, and Kyris the Hell cannot change that no matter how hard he tries to frighten them." The sun-created shadows covering him faded to reveal long crimson-red robes and deep-dark skin. The crystal atop his staff, a red ruby shaped perfectly like a bird in flight, started to glow.

"You red-eyed bastards," The other speaker was revealed to have a long headful of black hair braided behind his back, the tight bodysuit he was wearing giving him perfect freedom of movement. "Don't seem to understand that though, and just keep coming one after another to challenge this city we have sworn to protect."

"You two, you can't possibly be…" Riju felt sweat already dripping down his forehead, the mere sight of these two enough to strike terror into his heart. "You…you aren't supposed to be here! Weren't you out of the city in search of someone?"

"You think we'd be stupid enough to leave all together?" The crimson-dressed mage smiled at Kaigen's back. "Shouldn't you stop playing around with this guy?"

"Yeah, I know." Throwing the ragged cloak that had been covering him, the red-haired man revealed his grey and white robes. "Well, Riju of the Explosive Dragons, do you understand now?"

"You three…you three are…"

The long-haired and dark-skinned man coldly crossed his arms across his chest. "The top anti-magic Assassin in all of Mudeia, the Cross of Shadows, Deondre Anderson."

The mage tapped his staff against the rock below him once more, the bird-shaped crystal starting to glow brighter and brighter. "The high Archmage of Mudeia, the Sage Phoenix, Janeam Hawkins."

Kaigen bowed slightly, the sword hanging at his side slapping against his thigh gently. "I'm sure I need no introduction, at least if you were smart and researched your potential opponents a little bit."

Eyes trembling and sweat pouring down his face, Riju couldn't stop the trembling of his hands. "The Hero Genius of Mudeia, the Divining Sword, Daniel Pilkington….you…"

"Hurry up Daniel." Deondre suddenly broke his dramatic stance and stretched his neck out a little bit. "It seems Kyris just wants to make us miss lunch now. Hurry up and clear this piece of trash out of the way."

"You're far too uncultured, Deondre," Janeam rested against his staff and turned to look at his friend. "Not all of us rely on killing in one hit, like you do. Some of us have more class than that."

"It's not a matter of killing in one hit; I just don't see the point in dragging out a fight that we know is pointless." Tugging down the stretched portion of his suit that had been covering the lower half of his face, Deondre pointed at the magician. "Unlike you I don't like toying with guys who are obviously not our equals. Where's the class in completely treating an enemy as if they are nothing?"

"Um, isn't that what you two are doing right now?" Sweatdropping, Daniel turned to face the dragon master. "Sorry about that, but they are right. You're better off just running away while you can."

("I can't run away, or else Kyris will kill me for it.") Hand clenching into a tight fist, Riju pointed at the white and grey-robed man. "Despite your deception I will still win. Because of the stupid mistake you made by not coming at me with your full power now you only have one more card to draw before I can start tearing away what little remains of your life points!"

"…" Janeam and Deondre glanced at each other questioningly, and then started laughing.

"What's so funny about that?" Riju shouted.

Janeam finally managed to compose himself enough to start speaking. "You…you don't even realize just how futile this is, do you? Don't you know who your opponent is?"

Deondre let out a loud sigh as he finally calmed down enough to speak clearly as well. "There's a reason they call him the Hero Genius of Mudeia. It's not just because of those strange Elemental Hero monsters he runs, but it's because of one other thing too."

"That's enough, Deondre." Daniel held up a card. "He'll see soon enough, there's no need to tease him about it. I activate the magic card Reveal the True Warrior, allowing me to place my Life Deck down and gain 1000 life points." A red deck of cards appeared in the other slot of his Carrier. "And then I play Research on the Pot of Greed, drawing one card from my Life Deck."

Riju- 6600/10000

Kaigen- 1700/500

The card he had drawn suddenly disappeared in a burst of silver light. "I activate the spell card Release of Power, awakening my full magical power with the cost negated by the effect of Reveal the True Warrior, which negates Magic Point costs during this turn." An explosion of energy came from the aura awakening around him.

"Release of Power…" Riju could feel his fear intensifying.

"My full power is released and I draw three cards from my Life Deck." Daniel snapped three cards off of his deck and discarded two. "I place myself in this battle!" (1500/1300) "Also I activate the spell card Divine Fate, letting me guess the top three cards of my deck! If I guess their types correctly I may add them all to my hand! I guess item, technique and spell, in that order." Then he drew three cards from his Life Deck and held them up, revealing an item, a technique, and then a spell.

"How did you possibly…" Riju's eyes widened in sudden realization. ("The Divining Sword…the only known Seer ever to pick up a sword…") "You read the future?"

"Exactly," Pulling out a pair of wire-frame glasses with grey-tinted lenses, the Seer slid them onto his face calmly. "It's not something I do often, so consider it a sign of my respect that you would follow the orders of your master this far…" His closed eyes opened, appearing perfectly gray through the lenses of his new glasses. "…though I cannot show you any mercy. Prepare to die."

One of the three cards in his hand was flipped over and started to glow before it suddenly faded. "I activate the item card Future Edge, my sword." He slowly pulled the sheathed weapon free, its clear edge standing out against the black metal of its body. "This increases my attack strength by 1400 points!" (2900/1300)

"You can't possibly beat me this turn…you can't…" Riju felt the building energy around Daniel's body increase. ("How powerful can the leader of the Five Guardians of Mudeia be? Is this why Kyris had yet to try and conquer Mudeia with his full force?")

"I pay 1000 life points and 1000 magic points to activate the technique card Future Vision Slash." Daniel, with two of the fingers from the hand holding his sword, drew the top card of his deck. "I discard the top card of my deck and guess the type beforehand. If I'm correct I do so again, discarding the card and increasing my attack points by 700 for the turn. I guess magic card." He revealed that it was a magic card and then he discarded it to the graveyard. (3600/1300)

Riju- 6600/10000

Kaigen- 700/29500

"Trap," Daniel held the trap he had drawn before discarding it and continuing. (4300/1300)

Deondre whistled in mock astonishment. "Look at him go."

Daniel discarded another card, having been correct again. (8000/1300) "I'll stop here." Grabbing the hilt of his sword with both of his hands, he locked his eyes onto Riju. "Prepare yourself, Riju of the Explosive Dragons!" Then he exploded across the meadow, leaping high into the air above his opponent.

Riju gasped and tried to stumble back, but he found himself unable to move. ("Why can't I move…what magic is holding me here?") Then his panicked thoughts disappeared and turned into a scream of pain as he was slashed right down the middle by Daniel's Future Edge. "A Seer…a measly Seer…beat me…"

"A measly Seer?" Daniel stood up and turned away from Riju, sheathing his sword. Immediately after that the dragon master exploded in a blast of gray energy. "I suppose you're right, I'm just a measly Seer. Of course if you had been a measly Seer then you would have been able to see your death coming, wouldn't you?" He turned his head and childishly stuck his tongue out at the gray smoke behind him.

"Why didn't you just beat him full-force before, since you knew he was coming?" Janeam turned and started walking towards the main gates of Mudeia, not really all that impressed by this victory.

"Shut up, I'm not omnipotent." Stomping after his two friends, Daniel picked up his book from the ground. "If I was then I would have found the princess easily by now."

"Well once Allon and Carime return we can send your future-viewing ass out there and you can locate her." Deondre walked alongside the Seer, looking rather angrily at Janeam's back.

_My name is Daniel Pilkington, Hero Genius of Mudeia. I was a Seer that one day picked up a blade and, for my own reasons, trained myself in the arts of a swordsman. In the name of the holy city and its people I will defend this place and this country with my life. I cannot see very far into the future, but I can see what appears to be a rather unusual set of circumstances fast approaching. I guess I should prepare…_

Deondre sighed as Daniel suddenly fell forward and face-planted to the grass. "That's why I keep telling you not to write while you're walking."

_To be continued…_


	7. Foreshadowing Memories

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 7: Foreshadowing Memories 

_Journal of Alita Meijer_

_We won. I'm not sure how, because when I heard that Flair had fallen I was sure that all hope had disappeared. However it seems that Jason, using the killing instincts of the Subzero Shark, managed to defeat the subordinate of Kyris the Hell that had attacked the town. Now Alita's Adventuring Company has three members…_

Jason nearly choked to death on the loaf of bread he had tried to consume whole, but after a few moments of forcing it into a much denser ball of dough he managed to chew and swallow it. "Mmmph mmph mlaf…"

Clearing her throat and looking up from her thick journal book, Alita sighed helplessly at him. "Finish what's in your mouth before you try to speak."

Pounding his chest repeatedly, the dark-haired boy managed to get the entire loaf down before he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured the contents of it down his throat to help wash down something he shouldn't have been able to eat in one bite. "I was just saying that I'm still freaking starving."

"You haven't eaten for over three days, are you surprised?" She looked over at Flair, who was calmly sipping his soup. "How about you, Flair? Are you feeling better?"

The samurai placed his bowl down on the table between them and shot a glare at Jason. "I'd feel better if a certain dog would not eat at the table with the rest of us."

"Hey!" Jason yelled around a piece of meat on a bone that he was chewing apart rabidly, leaping to his feet to point across the table. "I saved you, so what's with you still calling me a dog?"

"There are two reasons. Your table manners are atrocious and until I see it for myself I don't believe that you're as powerful as Alita claims, which is why you're still a dog." He stood up and walked out the door of the tavern. "We're leaving in one hour, be ready by then."

Alita sighed and rested her head in her hands. "Can you two please stop fighting? If this group is going to work then we'll have to be nice to each other." Her eyes bulged out of her skull when she looked over at Jason. "What are you doing?"

The black-haired young man had stopped midway through his drink of water, the cup draining its contents over his face as he stared at the ceiling with a far-away look on his face.

-------------------

_Jason sneered coldly as he was kicked in the midsection again, his whole body sore from the rather brutal beating he was receiving. "I…I hope you guys don't have any dinner plans, because at this rate I won't be dying anytime soon."_

_The leader of the gang, a blond spiky-haired guy wearing a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses snarled and slammed his boot into the young man's midsection again. "That's fine by me; this is a lot more fun than what I planned on doing anyway!"_

_One of the other gang members near the back of the group turned to look at his fellow member. "What's with this dude anyway? He suddenly comes running at us and punches Johnny in the face, and now he's smiling while getting the crap beaten out of him."_

"_That's what I'd like to know." The other one scratched the top of his head. "What is this guy's problem?"_

"_I don't care what his reason was!" Johnny slammed his boot down on top of Jason's head. "All I know is that I'm going to make sure he regrets attacking me for no damn reason!"_

"_There was a reason though," Jason whispered out, lifting his head up despite the weight on top of it. "I was bored."_

"_Then you're a suicidal idiot." Johnny pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of his jacket and slid them on. "Look on the bright side though, now you won't be bored."_

"_Nope," Jason suddenly grinned. "No I won't."_

_--------------------_

Alita shook the young man a couple of times; ignoring the strange looks the other patrons in the restaurant were giving them both. "Hey, are you alright? Snap out of it!" She slapped him across the face roughly. "Come on Jason, speak to me!"

His eyes still out of focus, Jason suddenly grew a small smile. "Hey King, how's it going?" The words were whispered out, as if he was talking in his sleep.

---------------------

_A blond-haired young man wearing a black silk shirt and silk pants of the same color slowly brought his foot down to the ground at the same time as the second to last gang member dropped face-first to the pavement. He glanced down at the fallen Jason and kicked him in the ribs softly. "You're an idiot, Jace. Why would you pick a fight knowing that you'd lose?"_

"_I'm bored," Sitting up and rubbing some dirt from his face, the dark-haired boy grinned again. "And you did get a chance to show off a little bit, didn't you?"_

"_You're stupid, man." A slight French accent accompanied the words of King, though it seemed a bit fake. "Unlike you I don't go and show off the fact that I'm a member of the Freaks Gang."_

"_Yeah, it's cause you're afraid your mom'll whip your ass if she finds out you were fighting." Jason sneered for another second before he was silenced by a drop-kick to the skull._

_Sweat dripping down his forehead, Johnny took another step back closer towards the exit of the parking structure. "You ain't human…there's no way somebody could do that…"_

_Ignoring the gang leader, King stomped on Jason's back roughly. "I'm not afraid of that old hag at all!"_

"_Yeah, of course you're not." Sitting up, Jason tapped the side of his head with a finger. "Come on man, how long are you going to deny this? It's not like you don't have a good reason to be scared of her."_

"_Would you shut up about it already?" Kicking his friend in the head again, King turned on one heel to face Johnny. "As for you, get going before I do to you what I did to your buddies."_

_Putting on another pair of brass knuckles, Johnny swept back his hair with his hands and started throwing a few warm-up punches at the air. "I ain't afraid of you at all, weirdo!"_

"_The name's King Lawless, not weirdo." His bowl-shaped haircut bobbing slightly with his movements, he shoved his hands into his pockets. "And if you really want to fight, then I'll even give you a handicap." His arms shrugged a little, pulling on the fabric of his pants. "I won't use my hands at all."_

--------------------------------

"How is that a handicap for you?" Jason was pulled out of his severe daydream as a pitcher of water was emptied over his head. "I'm up, what's happening?" Leaping to his feet, he looked around the restaurant with fists balled up. "Is it a monster attack? Another of Kyris' flunkies?"

"How about you were acting bizarre?" Alita stood up and hit him over the head with the empty metal pitcher, denting it on his skull. "Why did you suddenly space out like that?"

He looked around worriedly, and then leaned in to whisper to her. "I spaced out?" Then he winced as she struck him over the head with the pitcher again.

-----------------------------------

_Not too far away…_

-----------------------------------

Flair readjusted the ties of his robe and bowed his head to the mayor of Acudacia once more. "I thank you again for respecting our wishes not to have a large celebration in honor of us defeating one of the officers of Kyris the Hell, Mayor."

The elderly man nodded his head up and down shakily. "I still do not see why you wish to avoid holding the celebration, but we are very thankful you stopped that mad magician from destroying our town and as such we will do anything you ask of us."

"Then do not speak of us again," The samurai looked out the sunlit window of the mayor's small home. "My partner is trying her best to avoid being detected by a certain group of people, because if they find us then there will be major trouble. Let us slip into obscurity."

Just then a frantic knock came from the door of the Mayor's office. "Mayor, we just received a message from Reduma!"

"It seems that trouble follows you where ever you go, good sir," The elderly man stood up and walked over to door, letting the sweating man in. "What was the message?"

"There is a group of men approaching from the east!" The man looked frantic. "They're carrying the bloody banner of Kyris the Hell at their front, and according to the report have a large number of Bloody Golems with them!"

"I see," Stroking his beard, the Mayor turned to look at Flair. "Master Swordsman, I know it will be inconvenient for you considering your timetable but would you mind so much as to accept a certain contract?"

"That will not be necessary." The samurai stepped past the two villagers, his hand resting on the hilt of his katana. "It seems that Kyris the Hell has decided that we're worth investigating. Mayor, we'll be leaving now. Please do not expect us back anytime soon."

"I wish you good luck in your travels, Master Swordsman." The old mayor bowed his head slightly to the samurai's back. "And thank you very much for worrying about us, though I think the ones in real danger are you."

--------------------

Rubbing the top of his head where Alita had bent her water pitcher over his skull, Jason glared at the girl. "What's your problem anyway, so what if I spaced out for a couple of seconds?"

"You were spaced out for a minute or so," She returned the glare. "And I thought that maybe it was some kind of side-effect of the distillation that made you a Grafter!"

"Of course not!" Leaping to his feet, right foot resting on the top of the table, Jason pounded his chest a couple of times. "I'm in perfect shape!" Then he dropped backwards into his chair, nearly tipping the whole thing over with the action. "Besides, I was just remembering one of my buddies in the Freaks Gang."

"The Freaks Gang? What's that?" Alita closed her book and rested her elbows on it, leaning in towards him.

"The Freaks Gang is my group of friends back in New York. We decided to call ourselves the Freaks Gang because not a single one of us is truly normal. The guy I remembered, for example, was definitely one of the freakiest out of the Freaks." Jason sneered at the memories that were coming back to him.

"You mean there is someone where you are from that is stranger than you?" Alita found that hard to believe, just because she didn't want to believe such a scary thought.

"King Lawless, a guy that tries way too hard to appear cool." Jason sat back in his seat as he had more and more memories of the time he had spent with the first member of the Freaks Gang. "He's a big fan of the French, and despite being a full-blooded New Yorker tries to sound like them too."

If a question mark could have appeared over Alita's head then it would be there. "What is 'French'? Is that what makes him a special member of your group?"

"Psh, not at all." Jason waved his hand in the air nonchalantly. "It's hard to explain beyond saying that I'm pretty sure he ain't human." His eyes suddenly turned to look out the nearest window. "Hey Alita, I'm going to go check and make sure the ass hasn't planned to poison me or something." Without waiting for her to acknowledge him he ran out the door.

They tore through the trees with ease, their giant blood-soaked bodies nearly capable of walking right over the trees and flattening them in the process. They were the Bloody Golems, one of Kyris the Hell's primary methods of terrorizing the populace.

"Man, what did we do that made Kyris decide to stick us with babysitting duty?" A long green-haired man with blood-red eyes snarled angrily and kicked the shins of one of the Bloody Golems, the creature ignoring him as it continued its approach across the tree-covered lands of the country of Forest.

"I agree, this is a waste of our unique talents." A bald man wearing a snug red leather bodysuit walked alongside the still-grumbling green-haired man. "However, if this is what Kyris wants us to do then who are we to argue with his decision?"

"It's just so stupid though!" The green-haired man turned to look at the chained and shackled form in the middle of the ring of Bloody Golems, the large creatures holding the chains that were attached to the restraints. "You can't seriously tell me that a guy like this is actually dangerous…"

"According to the rumors he's capable of incredible feats," The bald man leapt up onto the road that they just reached. "From here if we follow this path we will arrive in Acudacia within a matter of hours." His eyes widened slightly as he looked down the road. "What's this?"

---------------------------

Alita tugged on the straps of her pack. "Alright Flair, let's get ready to go."

The samurai glanced around the main street of Acudacia. "I'm not complaining that he's not here, but where's the dog?"

"…." The blond-haired girl paled. "He left the tavern about forty minutes ago and said he was going to go find you…"

"Damn it, I can only guess where he is." Flair motioned to the front gate. "Continue on towards our next location, I'll be following sometime later today…" His eyes narrowed angrily. ("If that idiot loses then he'll become a member of The Hell's crew, and if what Alita said about him being a Legendary Class is true then I have to make sure he doesn't lose….at least not at the hands of anyone who follows The Hell.")

------------------------------

Jason grinned calmly, his back resting against the trunk of a tree alongside the road, and tugged on the hem of his vest. "It looks like you guys are headed somewhere in a hurry. Where might that be, huh?"

"We were heading towards Acudacia to meet you, Grafter." The bald man glanced back at his partner. "However it seems that you've come to meet us personally…why is that?"

"Because…" Jason's right eye started twitching and he began pacing across the road. "Wow, how did I even know you guys were here? Or that you were looking for me?"

"How should we know?" The green-haired man snapped impatiently. "All we know is that we brought someone for you to fight, at the request of Kyris the Hell. Do you accept?"

"Why would I turn down such a kind invitation?" Jason's lips curled into that cold sneer of his. "Besides, a good old-fashioned brawl sounds like fun." His Carrier appeared on his arm. "Who am I fighting?"

"That one." The bald man thumbed over his shoulder at the man surrounded by Bloody Golems, completely covered from head to toe in black cloth that was bound to his body by chains.

"Hmph, that's fine." Jason closed his eyes and his Carrier started glowing. "Let's get this battle underway."

----------------------

The trees whipping past him, Flair ran as fast as he could towards the location of the rising magical auras he could sense in the distance. ("That idiot is getting ready to engage someone, but whom? If it's someone weak then there won't be a problem, but if it's someone stronger than myself he will not be able to win.") And unfortunately at this distance he couldn't be sure who this enemy was. ("The enemy's power is fluctuating…it's on a very strange wavelength that I'm not used to.")

---------------------------

The bald man snapped his fingers and the Golems released the chains they were holding, the now pressure-less pieces of metal falling away from the enwrapped form. "Grafter, I'm not sure why but Kyris wants to test you with this opponent…he told me to tell you that he's sure you'll like this enemy."

"Oh really?" Wishing more than ever that he had pockets, Jason contended himself to lick his lips. "I love a potential challenge…so what kind of weird battle will this one be?"

"An Adventurer's Duel." The green-haired man motioned to Jason's Carrier. "Remove your Duel Deck, it is forbidden in this battle. In exchange both players come into battle immediately. You got it?"

"Not really, but I'm sure that I'll figure it out by the time the battle has begun." Jason hadn't brought his Duel Deck with him anyway, fairly confident in his abilities to handle this kind of problem. "You ready, bag-head?"

"Bag-head…" The clothed form suddenly was rushing forward, appearing in front of Jason almost instantly. "Your jokes are far too lame!" The black-haired boy had no time to respond before he was bounced off the shoulder of his chagrining opponent and sent flying backwards through several trees.

The bald man crossed his arms across his chest. "Hmmm, that's pretty impressive speed."

---------------------

Flair lowered his sheathed katana slowly, his hiding place in the trees nearby affording him a perfect place to watch while he recovered his endurance. Running this direction full speed for over half an hour was exhausting. ("I'll have to let the dog get slapped around a bit before I intervene.") Besides, he was interested in the power of this mystery opponent as well.

-----------------------

The fallen trees shuddered and exploded upwards in a spray of splinters, revealing Jason with bone spikes jutting out of his body, a long spiked tail swinging behind him, and a head of long green-gray fur. "Damn dude, you almost hit me before I could call out Stonequill." (1500/3000)

(1800/800) The covered opponent was silent now. ("What is this strange form of his?")

"Regardless of what you expected to happen, attacking a defense mode monster with a weaker creature tends to result in a lot of backlash pain," Jason smirked calmly, showing off one fang and slamming his tail against the ground a couple of times.

?- 6000/0

Jason- 8000/5000

"Wha…" Eyes wide, Jason quickly took note of something bizarre about this guy. "You've got no magic points but you've got a Life Deck…how?"

"Shut up," The clothed opponent stood his ground calmly. "The turn is yours now."

Jason touched the top of his Life Deck and the top card of it disappeared, eyes narrowed. ("This guy is creeping me out…it's like he's testing me.") Part of him wanted to exclaim just how cool it was that he could see all of the cards in his 'hand' in his head at this very moment. ("This place has got some weird rules when it comes to dueling, but none of that really matters. What matters is why I was drawn to this place.") "I activate Stone Bullet at the cost of 200 magic points, which activates when I'm in defense mode! Take 600 points of damage and switch to defense mode!" Kicking a small stone on the ground up into the air, he spun on one foot and slapped the piece of rock towards his opponent with his tail.

"Even when you look different, you still use the same stupid tricks," The mystery opponent hopped into a twist in the air, one leg lancing out and easily shattering the stone before it could connect. "Those won't work on me, Jason."

?- 5400/0

Jason- 8000/4800

"So you know my name?" The Grafter cracked his knuckles and motioned for the mystery opponent to come and get him. "Well then, let's see what you've got."

"Very well," The clothed form suddenly collapsed in on itself, the empty fabric folding into a neat pile on the dirt ground.

Both Jason and Flair couldn't hide the absolute surprise on their faces.

"You're wide open," came a whisper from off to the Grafter's side. Even as he started to turn he knew that nothing would be able to protect him from the blow he was about to sustain. _"Coup de Pied Court!"_ Then Jason's chin was aimed skywards as a shoe shot up and caught him square in the jaw with enough force to make him black out momentarily. _"Le Talon tournant à la Tête!"_ The air-born foot slammed down on the ground and its partner came hurtling in to crack its heel against Jason's jaw, sending him moving horizontally through the air. _"Baisse de balance!"_ The same heel repositioned itself to slam a dropkick down on Jason's chest and send him into the dirt with enough force to bring him bouncing back into the air moments later. _"Coup de Pied Court!"_ The tip of a shoe crashed into Jason's back and pushed him a little higher into the air so that he couldn't reach the ground.

("This is impossible…") Flair, though he was a quick-draw swordsman, had never seen such speed before. The opponent was like some kind of living blur, stopping only before the moment it would strike. ("His movements are too fluid to be normal. If this is martial arts then I've never heard of the style before…")

("Damn…") Jason knew this pattern of attack from a third-person perspective, so getting put through it in a first-person view was pretty painful just to think about. Through the numb and burning sensations in his swollen jaw the Grafter managed to ask one question in this odd moment in time, where everything felt like it was moving slower than it should have been possible. "What's got you so pissed off?"

King, blood-red eyes perfectly matching his dirtied and worn appearance, looked down at the still in-air Jason with contempt. "You made Saika cry because your stupid ass doesn't know how to keep out of trouble." His right leg was perfectly straight in the air, his balance amazingly keeping him from moving in the slightest despite the extreme strain this must have put on his pelvis and groin.

"Sai cried?" The question sounded extremely stupid when he said it, mostly because he knew what was coming for the finale. ("King's trademark final attack, the killer move he only uses when he's pissed off…") Yet he couldn't move…even though he was augmented by Stonequill's defensive power the damage from King's strikes were just as inhumanly powerful as ever.

"_Charger à la Tête!"_ His bowl-shaped haircut flowing in the wind created by the sudden action, King brought his foot down and connected right at the weakest spot of Jason's skull. The Grafter hit the ground, and then he was pushed through it as the following force of pressure created a powerful explosion of dirt that rose up into the sky for a good hundred feet.

Flair covered his face with the low-hanging part of his robe as the immense winds created by the strike blew across his face. ("What was that? A kick? No, no kick could do that much damage…")

The green-haired man dropped the barrier he had created to protect himself from the impact's backlash and frowned at King, who was walking towards them with his hands in his pockets. "How about a little bit of warning before you use such powerful strikes, eh?"

King didn't respond, walking past them both calmly and willing away the Carrier that was attached to his arm.

King- 8800/0

Jason- 0/4800

The dust clouds slowly cleared away to reveal a bloodied Jason face-first in the dirt, his forearm spines shattered and his body impacted into the bedrock a few feet below the ground.

The bald man whistled in astonishment. "You made quick work of him. Then again, that's not much to brag about considering how weak he was."

King stopped, glanced back at the two sneering subordinates of Kyris the Hell, and then walked back over to the fallen Jason. "I'll be the one to get the credit for capturing him, got it?" Throwing the unconscious Grafter over his shoulder, he walked past the two growling red-eyed men with a dark look in his eyes. "Or you can try to stop me, but after witnessing that do you really want to risk fighting me when I'm this angry? The choice is yours." Then he continued back the way they had come.

From his hiding place, Flair knew that this wasn't going to end well at all. ("I already know what Alita is going to order me to do when I tell her what happened here…") Sighing inwardly, he started to make the run back towards the road she would be traveling.

_To be continued…_


	8. The Bloody Prison

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia and everything that has to do with it though.

_From the World Atlas of Temarocia:_

_Shunsuna, also known as the Bloody Prison, is where the most dangerous criminals and Rogue Adventurers are sent to live the rest of their lives in torment. This is the place also known as the Warlord's Haven, because regardless of whoever might be in power throughout the surrounding region there will always be one lord and master of the Bloody Prison._

"It looks like a group of Kyris' boys have just shown up at our front door. What should we do, Boss?" A guard dressed in crude leather armor rubbed one burly hand across the rough stubble on his face. "Should we let'em in?"

_His name is…_

Taking a huge bite out of the piece of meat in one of his hands, a shadowed ten-foot tall giant of a man nodded slowly and spoke around his food. "Sure, let's see what the Red-Eyes got for us."

_The Warlord of the Lion; Regimond Akutast_

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 8: The Bloody Prison; Shunsuna

The ropes to the elevator slowly lifted the large wooden platform up along the side of the rest of the mountain-like structure that was Shunsuna, the hewn windows affording the sight of some of the worst criminals known to Temarocia.

The green-haired man adjusted his robes and glanced back at the bald man that was sitting against the railing of the platform elevator. "So Solaris, what do you think of this place? I haven't been here in years, but I still remember just how creepy it really is."

"This place is insane, Gerude." Hands hidden in the folds of his cloak, the bald red-eyed servant of Kyris the Hell glanced over at the dirtied young man wearing a black silk shirt and pants combination. "What about you, King?"

"Do not talk to me," The blond-haired New Yorker tilted his gaze over at the bound, chained, and unconscious Jason that was on the ground in the center of the platform. "I don't have any kind of friendly relationship with either of you losers."

"Che, insolent brat," Solaris muttered under his breath before looking out at the far-away ground. ("How can a guy with no magical power be so damned strong…that shouldn't be possible.")

------------------------

"What?" Alita stared at Flair for a few seconds, and then bashed him over the head with her staff. "Why didn't you stop him when you got there?"

Paying the bump that was developing on his head no mind, the samurai tightened the ties of his robe. "I didn't expect him to get defeated in one attack. I'm not even sure what this mysteriously-clothed guy used, but it was some kind of martial art."

"That's not important!" Her blond bangs bobbing over her forehead, the girl started marching towards the direction Flair had come from. "We have to go rescue him!"

"And why should we? Isn't it more important that we…" He went silent when she glared at him. "Do you have a crush on that idiot or something? Why are we going to go bail him out of this kind of situation?"

"Because he is my responsibility and because he's a legendary class of Adventurer! There's no way that I could let him fall into the hands of somebody like Kyris the Hell. If such a disastrous thing happened then we would lose a powerful ally!" Stamping her foot down into the dirt, Alita pointed at his face. "Now are you going to help me or not, because I'm going whether you accompany me or not!"

"…" The samurai leaned in towards her a little bit, an inquisitive look on his face. "You didn't answer my first question." Then his head was bowed slightly as he had a staff cracked over it again.

-------------------------

"Lord Akutast will see you now." Another guard that looked more like a mercenary than a soldier motioned to the heavy iron doors located at the end of the waiting room.

The two cloaked members of Kyris's crew walked up to the fifteen-foot tall doors and waited patiently for it to be opened.

"That ain't how we do things around here." The guard sneered and returned to his post. "You boys ain't anybody special, so if you want to see Lord Akutast then you gotta show us your strength."

"You want us to open this door?" Gerude frowned and pushed his shoulder against the thick iron for a few seconds before stepping back a few steps. "That's…"

King, Jason still over his shoulder, walked past them both and kicked the double-doors open. "I've got business with this guy; you two will remain here and wait for my orders."

"What was that, you asshole?" Solaris jumped in front of the dirtied young man defiantly. "I don't remember Kyris saying that a newbie like you was in charge, so perhaps you'd like me to remind you who he said would lead us?"

"Le lamenter d'un petit chien ne secoue pas mon courage." Smiling slightly at the confused look on the other man's face, King walked around him and continued inside the office of the warden of the Bloody Prison, the huge iron doors closing the moment he entered.

---------------------

"…And so that's that." King, hands in his pockets and an unlit cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, waited patiently for the warden to come to a conclusion. "Do you accept these conditions, with the promise that Kyris the Hell will pay you accordingly in the near future?"

Across the expansive red-carpeted office, in a huge leather chair, sat the bald plate-armored giant that was Regimond Akutast. At his side was the giant battle-axe that had made him a legend, and had allowed him to defeat the previous warden of the Bloody Prison so many decades ago. "You understand, of course, that normally I would simply kill you and those other two where you stood because you have the audacity to come here and request something like this."

"Then why haven't you?" King asked this casually, his red eyes remaining a dull color instead of the normal vibrant color that his two companions had.

A deep belly laugh came from the Warlord. "Because you kicked that door open with even more force than I had expected from such a little man."

A slight smirk crossed King's face. "I get that a lot. So, do we have a deal?"

"Yeah sure, you aren't requesting too much and the payment I will be receiving from Kyris the Hell will be nearly any amount of Tem I request, correct?" At the young man's nod the Warlord looked over at the guards that were positioned near the pillars on one side of the office. "Escort his prisoner to the interrogation cell, and get the execution platform ready too."

-------------------------------

Solaris and Gerude stood up the moment the doors exploded open and King walked back into the waiting room without their prisoner. "From the looks on your faces you're wondering what I did with 'the Grafter', right?" Pocketing the still unlit cigarette, he flicked some of his hair out of his face. "I'm going to have a little talk with him, and then I'm going to have him executed."

"What?" Solaris was immediately on his guard. "That was not what Kyris ordered us to do! Are you risking opposing the man that can kill you with a glance for your own reasons?"

"Oui." He gave them both a crazy little grin. "Would either of you cowards care to stop me?"

Gerude swept his cloak behind him and drew his short sword angrily. "You fool, don't you understand that opposing Kyris is suicidal enough…but opposing him after you are infected with The Hell is a death sentence?"

"I understand it just fine, and I honestly don't care right now." He brushed his shirt off, not even looking at them now. "This silk is straight from France too, damn it…you guys really don't seem to understand how much I liked this thing."

"You're doing this because of a shirt?" A fireball appeared floating just above Solaris's hand. "You truly are suicidal then…so let the two of us end the little problem of living for you!" His Carrier appeared on his arm. (1600/300)

Gerude summoned his Carrier as well, sheathing his sword at his side. "We will not let you oppose our mighty lord, Kyris the Hell!" (1700/1300)

"Me montrer votre resolution." King's Carrier appeared and he tapped it five times, the images of the cards drawn appearing in his mind right before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. (1800/800)

King- 8000/0

Solaris- 8000/8000

Gerude- 8000/7500

"Draw." Tapping the top card of his Life Deck, King rolled his shoulders a little bit at the two men. "Alright, end turn for now."

"A traitor like you deserves this kind of fate more than all others!" Solaris tapped the top card of his Life Deck and then hurled the ball of fire still floating around the proximity of his hand at the blond-haired young man angrily. "I activate the spell card Fire Arts; Blaze Bomb! At the cost of 600 magic points I can catch everything this attack hits with its damage!"

"Not a problem." King suddenly leapt upwards, hurtling dozens of feet into the air and rebounding off of the ceiling. His new course carried him right towards the flame magician, and out of range of the explosion that rocked the room roughly and immediately sent the two guards inside the room with them running for cover. "I activate the power of Aerial Combatant, which remains in effect for the rest of the duel until dispelled. Once per turn I can escape one ground-based attack."

Solaris gasped in surprise and started to stumble backwards to try and get away from the rapidly approaching young man. "Kill him Gerude!"

"Right!" Tapping the top card of his Life Deck, the swordsman drew his sword. "I activate the item card Short Sword, increasing my power by 300 points!" (1900/1300) "And then I activate the technique Storm Slash, which will prevent you from attacking because it will strike you with hurricane-strength winds that will crush your body against the wall!" His sword started to glow with green light.

King- 8000/0

Solaris- 8000/7400

Gerude- 8000/6000

King's right leg suddenly swung, sending a gust of wind across the faces of the two surprised servants of Kyris the Hell and also serving a powerful counter-balance to stop his forward flight and bring him to the ground quicker. "Let's see if you can."

"Bastard, eat this!" Gerude swung his sword and a powerful whirling blast of wind swallowed up everything in front of him. "My powerful Storm Slash can't be defeated by some guy who just uses his feet to fight."

The winds died down to reveal King crouched in the same position he had landed, apparently unfazed by the attack. "Sorry but I activate Ground Fighter, which while in effect allows me to once per turn escape any kind of attack that would force me to move or that would attempt to overpower me."

Both red-eyed men growled in unison. ("He managed to counter both of our attacks?")

Standing up and tapping the top card of his Life Deck, King shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Here I come boys, try to keep up." Then he ran at both of them rapidly, sliding into a crouch right before he reached Gerude and then shooting upwards and connecting his knee with the swordsman's chin. _"La Grève sautant de Genou!"_

Using the momentum he had gained, the young man flipped over the falling man's head, landed in front of Solaris, smiled calmly, and then proceeded to deliver a rapid-fire series of kicks to the magician's face and chest. _"Coup de pied de Mitrailleuse!" _

Solaris stumbled back, gasping for air and clutching at his chest and stomach. "You attacked twice…like you did against the Grafter…how…"

Standing behind them both, King smiled calmly. "I activated the technique card Rising Knee Strike, which increases my attack power by 800 for one attack during this turn. It also lets me draw a card if I successfully land the attack, which as you can see I did."

"Then what about…my wounds…" The magician gasped once more for air.

"That would be my Machine-Gun Kick technique card, which lets me attack two more times. If it was followed earlier by my second or higher attack then my attack point are unaffected, but since it wasn't my attack power were halved for the damage step." King shrugged his shoulders. "These Adventurer Duels have some pretty bizarre rules, but it makes sense considering these are supposed to be like a real fight. Since you two are way too slow to stop my actual attacks, I can easily attack your slow asses directly."

King- 8000/0

Solaris- 6200/7400

Gerude- 5400/6000

("That's true,") Gerude thought as he recovered and turned to face the young man with his sword at ready. ("In an Adventurer Duel a new set of strategic rules are applied which introduce one on one combat and positioning effects, like Solaris' fireball or my Storm Slash and the extra effects they had which changed because they were being used in an Adventurer's Duel.")

"Oh, and one more thing," He popped his neck a couple of times. "When I deal life point damage to my opponent my life points rise by 400. Since my speed seems to give me the advantage here, I'll just end here and let you two make your moves." King flicked the cigarette out of his pocket and caught it in his mouth, rolling it about with tongue.

King- 8800/0

Solaris- 6200/7400

Gerude- 5400/6000

"Draw!" Solaris tapped the top card of his Life Deck and a burning trio of fireballs appeared around him. "Take three more of my powerful Fire Art; Blaze Bombs!" He snapped his staff out and the three fireballs launched towards King rapidly.

The young man snapped his leg up and kicked one of the fireballs, extinguishing it with the force of his strike before switching legs and swiping the other two fireballs out before they could explode against him. Then his eyes widened slightly as he watched Solaris scream in pain as burn-marks appeared on his chest. "Oh, I see now. If you can't physically stop the attack then you take the damage directly, while if you block it then your attack or defense score and the opponent's attack or defense score are compared. Since I'm so much stronger than you are the backlash seared you."

King- 9600/0

Solaris- 4800/5600

Gerude- 5400/6000

"Also," One leg resting crooked up in front of him like a bird's leg might be, the fake Frenchman smiled calmly. "I activated the technique card Muay Thai Defense, increasing my attack by 500 for the turn. Also, I negate the first attack the opponent uses against me as well." (2300/800)

"You…stopped my fireballs with mere kicks…that cannot be possible…" Solaris collapsed to his knees and started coughing weakly as the pain began to overtake him.

"Oh, one more thing…" King tapped his Life Deck twice. "I activate the spell card Skilled Fighter, which remains in effect until dispelled. Whenever I successfully negate one of your attacks I draw two cards, but this effect can only be used once per turn. Just letting you know is all."

("He's making a fool out of us!") Gerude drew and grasped his sword with both hands. "Die, you traitor!" He leapt forwards and swung full-force at King.

"I activate a rather simple card, Dodge, which lets me avoid your attack!" King side-stepped the swing, and started to reach for his Life Deck.

"I activate Feint, which activates if my opponent plans on negating my attack. I negate my own attack and attack again!" Suddenly Gerude's blade was moving in a swinging arc heading upwards as it slashed towards King again.

His bowl-shaped haircut bobbing with his movements, the silk-wearing young man's right foot came snapping down and hit the hilt of the sword, stopping its actual movements cold. "Nice shot…"

King- 9500/0

Solaris- 4800/5600

Gerude- 5400/6000

"I'm not done!" Gerude was suddenly moving forwards forcefully, pushing King off-balance as he prepared another sword strike. "I activate the technique card Driving Attack, which activates when I successfully attack you! I attack again!" His sword fell rapidly towards King's unprotected head. ("If I can score a direct attack the damage will be significant enough to turn the tides in our favor!")

"You got too greedy," His green eyes flicked up to look at the approaching blade, and then King was moving in a back-flip that had no momentum. He didn't move back at all, but the sudden action allowed him to kick the other man's sword away before it could successfully strike him. "I activate Fighting Spirit, which activates when I'm attacked a third time during one turn. The attack is negated and I add one attack-negating card from my graveyard to my hand afterwards."

Stumbling backwards rapidly, Gerude growled in utter frustration at how impossible this man's speed was. ("He doesn't even have any facial hair yet and he's still brushing my expert sword strokes aside like they were nothing…and all he is using is his feet!")

King tapped the top of his Life Deck twice. "I draw twice for the effect of Skilled Fighter." Then he tapped the top of his Life Deck once more. "And then I start my turn."

Gerude was standing alongside Solaris, the two servants of Kyris the Hell unable to believe that together they didn't seem to be enough to beat this man.

He charged at them both, skidding to a stop right before he could slam into them and sending one foot in a wide arc in front of him as he swept a powerful kick through Solaris, though Gerude blocked his leg with the flat of the swordsman's blade immediately after. _"Roundhouse Coup de pied!"_

King- 10300/0

Solaris- 2000/5600

Gerude- 4500/6000

Solaris twitched a couple of times and dropped to his knees, coughing up a couple of his teeth.

Gerude, arms trembling, lowered his sword slowly. "Another of your kick techniques?"

"Roundhouse Kick, a close-range spread technique which increases my attack by 1000 during the damage step and that also lets me add one attack from my graveyard to my hand if I successfully fully land it against one opponent." King smiled slightly at Gerude. "Nice block."

"I'll kill you, you bastard…" Solaris lifted his head up just in time to suddenly catch a rapid-fire series of kicks to the face that left him twitching on the ground and missing what was left of some of his teeth.

"Machine-Gun Kick's revival…and this time my attack power isn't halved to use it." Lowering his kicking leg to the ground slowly, King continued to smile at Gerude. "You ready to end this?"

King- 11100/0

Solaris- 0/5600

Gerude- 4500/6000

"That's fine with me, you traitor!" Gerude touched the top of his Life Deck but didn't feel a card transfer to him.

"Who ever said that I was done?" King leapt forward and threw his right heel up to strike the green-haired man across the face. _"Le Talon tournant à la Tête!"_

"It's useless!" Gerude blocked the kick with the flat of his blade again. "I blocked your other attack with my Passive Guard, and it remains in effect for the rest of this turn so your attempts mean nothing to me! All physical attacks against me are negated! That is the limit of your kick attacks, as no form of martial art can beat the unyielding strength of cold hard steel!"

"Is that so?" King snapped his leg straight up to point into the air, a physical position that would leave any other man in an enormous amount of pain. _"Charger à la Tête!"_ Then his leg dropped and his foot snapped the blocking sword in half, cracking down on the spot in between the swordsman's shoulder and neck. They held that position for a few seconds before an explosion of power erupted from the connecting point and sent them both flying backwards. Where King was able to land without any problems though his opponent bounced five times off the ground until the wall stopped them…sort of. The brick barricade shuddered and nearly gave way, but in the end managed to avoid collapsing under the pressure applied to it.

King- 11500/0

Solaris- 0/5600

Gerude- 0/6000

The guards slowly brought themselves out of hiding, staring in amazement at King.

Pulling out a lighter, the blond-haired man lit up his cigarette and took a puff from it. "Toss these two out when you guys have the time. I'll be off interrogating the prisoner." Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked past the impact point in the wall where Gerude was currently imprinted in and headed off towards where Jason would be. ("Now that the annoyances are out of the way, Jace, I've got a couple of words I need to share with you before your execution.")

--------------------------

From inside his office, Regimond couldn't help but smile. Removing his hand from the crystal ball on his desk that allowed him to see anything that occurred inside the Bloody Prison, the Warlord started laughing heartily. "What an amazing kid…he crushed those other two like they were nothing…"

Sitting back in his chair, he knew that he would have to be ready. Things weren't going to go as smoothly as he wished they would.

_To be continued…_


	9. The Approaching Storm

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and all the stuff that happens there.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 9: The Approaching Storm

As he walked down the dimly lit hallways of the Bloody Prison, King wondered to himself how all this could have come to pass over the course of just a few days. ("It's his fault, that idiot Jace, and yet I can't just place the blame entirely on his shoulders. We were fools for trying to find him…")

When he had suddenly arrived in the main hall of Kyris the Hell's castle he immediately fell under attack. Despite his confidence in his skills he was easily defeated because he was caught off guard by the Life Deck his enemy used. ("So many bad things have happened in such a short amount of time…and now the only guy who can do anything about it was easily pounded flat by me. If that is the limit of his power then we are truly finished. Jace has to become stronger…")

He stopped in front of a pair of guards that were guarding a heavily locked door. "Is this the interrogation room?" When they nodded he motioned to it. "Let me in, I've got to speak with the prisoner before the execution takes place."

----------------------

"_And I'm telling you that you're wrong!" King poked Jason in the forehead a couple of times, some veins bulging out of his neck and a half-finished cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth. "The French are by far the best when it comes to military tactics! A comparison of them to you is like comparing…well, it's like comparing them to you! It's idiotic!"_

"_The only stupid thing here is you!" Jason thumbed at his chest and slammed his hand down on the top of their table outside the restaurant. "The French ain't nothing compared to my incredible tactical skill! Name one good thing that's come from there that's got to do with the military!"_

"_Have you ever heard of Napoleon?"_

"_What does ice cream have to do with this?"_

"_I know goldfishes that are smarter than you!"_

"_That's it, it's go time!" Jason tackled King and the two went down in a heap, sending their food and drinks flying everywhere around them._

_---------------------------_

Jason coughed a couple of times as he got a breath of cigarette smoke to the face. "Damn it King, I'm up! There's no need for you to spray me with your nasty breath."

"Your jokes are still lame." The blond-haired young man sat down in the poorly made wooden chair in the center of the roughly-hewn stone cell, crossing his legs together slowly.

At the far end of the small room the black-haired young man was chained up to the wall, heavy metal bonds wrapped around his legs and arms to keep him from moving at all. "So why are you here?"

"I'm here because there are a few things I wanted to say to you before you're executed." Taking another puff of his cigarette, King looked up at the ceiling and sprayed a jet of smoke from his mouth upwards. "I'll tell it to you as simply as possible. The others are somewhere here in Temarocia. Kimberly, Rick, and Saika…all three of them were with me when it happened."

His heart had stopped in his chest when he heard this, so Jason didn't immediately have a snappy reply on hand. "Are they alright?"

"Who knows?" After taking another drag of his cigarette, King sighed out and leaned back in his seat. "Though as I sit here I recall the events that led up to it like it was yesterday…"

"Stop trying to sound cool," Jason barked out angrily. "It happened a few days ago, so of course it would be fresh in your mind!"

Kicking the other man in the face, King held his foot there as he started remembering out loud.

-------------------------

"_He's late!"_

_King sighed as someone paced in front of him, though at his current eye level he could only see the top of a black-haired head. "You know, Kim chéri, it would be better on your heart and your complexion if you did the smart thing and relaxed a little bit."_

_The top of the head of hair stopped right in front of him and he felt something cold and metal get pressed against the underside of his chin. "Shut your mouth, Casanova, before I staple it shut with some lead! That idiot said he'd be here at noon, and just take a look at what time it is now!"_

_Ignoring the pistol aimed at his head, King pulled out his pocketwatch and flipped it open. "It's 12:03. Wow, you normally only start making threats when he's five minutes late. Come on now, the others aren't here yet either."_

_The pistol was removed from his neck and holstered. "Sai and Rick have excuses though! Jace lives fifteen minutes from here!"_

_-----------_

_Fifteen minutes later…_

_-----------_

"_So what do you think should I use rubber bullets or those pepper powder ones that Rick came up with?" The sound of a pistol being loaded could be heard from off to King's side._

"_Whichever you use will more than likely not do too much to him." Finding himself fidgeting, King quickly pulled a cigarette out and flicked it into the corner of his mouth, though he didn't light it. "I'm really starting to wonder if something happened to the poor bastard. He's not one to be this late usually."_

"_Hey, is there a fire over there?" Someone nearby called out._

"_Hmmm?" Tilting his head skyward, King blinked at the cloud of orange smoke that hung in the air above two blocks away. "Isn't that the stupid smoke signal that Rick invented? We really need to get that boy a cell phone."_

"_Yup, which means that something happened and he needs our help." Kim ran past him quickly. "Come on, Casanova; let's find out what the deal is. We already missed the tournament anyway!"_

_------------------_

_The first thing that King realized when he arrived was that the cloud was directly over an alley, which considering this was New York never boded well for anyone. Charging into the rather spacious area between the two buildings, he skidded to a halt as he realized there was a pair of men in black suits in his way. "Excuse me gentlemen, I've got to get through here."_

"_That won't be possible." One of the two men started to reach into his suit pocket. "You'll need to leave this instant."_

"_Is that so?" King's hands came to a rest in his pockets. "That's too bad; my friend just called me on his cell phone and told me that there were suspicious-looking guys making a ruckus."_

"_Is that so?" The man removed his handgun from his suit pocket and aimed it at the young man. "That's too bad, buddy. It looks like you won't be walking out of this situation alive."_

"_Actually, the ones not walking out of this situation alive would be you two." King suddenly disappeared; appearing behind them both with his body already in the middle of a roundhouse kick that laid them both flat on the ground. "Now then, let's see what you two were…" He turned and his eyes widened in amazement at the pulsing orb of darkness just around the corner in the alley. "And just what is this thing?"_

"_That's a good question," Kim said from off to his side. "Do you think Rick is inside?"_

"_There's only one way to find out." Popping his neck a couple of times, King leapt up into the air above the orb and brought his foot crashing down on top of it. "Charger à la Tête!" There was a burst of pressure that shook the surrounding walls for a few moments, and then the blond-haired young man was hurled backwards into a wall._

"_Wow, that thing is pretty strong if it stood against one of your kicks." Kim snapped her pistol up and a shot rang out across the alley as she fired once into it, not surprised when she heard a hissing noise and a small spray of purple sparks came from the orb. "Maybe we should try…"_

_The orb hummed and disappeared, leaving no trace it had ever been there in the first place._

"_It's empty?" King rolled to his feet and walked to the center of where the orb had been, looking around for some clue as to the location of their friend._

_The clue came in the form of a ringing noise at his feet. It was a pink cell phone with stickers of little kittens all over it. "Sai's cell phone is here?"_

_Kim pointed near a dumpster. "And that's Jace's scooter right?"_

"_That means that all three of them have been here at one point or another…" Lighting up a fresh cigarette, King flipped through the call records of Saika's cell phone with one hand. "Hmmm, the last call was to 911 but it didn't get through."_

"_I bet this is somehow Jace's fault." Kicking the side of the motor scooter with her foot, Kim turned to face the fake Frenchman. "Are there any messages on Saika's phone?"_

"_Let me check." Holding the device up to his ear, King pressed the call button and contacted the phone's voice mail service. After a minute or two passed he growled in frustration and turned it off. "Damn it, I knew he was somehow responsible for this! And she was crying too! I'm going to kick his ass!" Shoving the phone into his pocket, he turned to walk out of the alley and stopped immediately when a bullet whizzed past his cheek._

"_That's as far as you go, brat." One of the two men King had knocked out earlier had his handgun out and was aiming at the two of them. "I'll kill you both."_

"_Can you really do such thing?" King stretched his legs a little bit. "Normal firearms aren't going to be able to connect with me and you just wasted your only free shot hitting nothing but air."_

"_That may be true, but if I start a Darkness Game then I'll be able to crush you both in a duel." The man made a motion with his hands and another orb of darkness formed, this time around the three of them. "A two on one…" His eyes widened in pain as he was suddenly destroyed by a trio of black lightning bolts that fell from the edge of the orb._

"_What the…" King felt a powerful burst of force slam against his body and then he was falling…_

_--------------------_

"And that's how I wound up here. I'm still not sure why that guy starting a Darkness Game would cause this, but that's the deal." King removed his foot from Jason's face and returned to his seat. "So, anything you'd like to ask me before I leave you to your fate?"

The black-haired young man collapsed against the nearly spiky stone wall behind him, head hanging low. "Where's the cell phone, King?"

The blond-haired man chuckled mirthlessly. "Why should I…"

His head snapped up, murder in his eyes. "Where's the cell phone, King?"

King patted his pant's pocket. "It's right here. If you want it then you'll have to take it from me. Of course considering that you'll be executed in about ten minutes you've got little left to do except to say your prayers." His attention was off of Jason, so he barely had time to react before the black-haired boy leapt up and lunged across the room, reaching the end of the chain right before they connected bodily. "I see you're desperate to save her, aren't you? She sounded pretty scared too…in fact; she even called your name out a couple of times, as if you would mysteriously appear like some kind of hero to save her."

"I'll…" Jason pushed forward harder, the metal bands applying even more pressure to his body. "…kick your ass…" His eyes reflected nothing but a burning hot desire to break free of his bonds now.

The fake Frenchman laughed and walked over to the door, pushing it open with his foot. "What will you do? Jason, even if you got free there's no way you could possibly take me down in a fight. That's impossible, no matter how mad you are. You've got no fighting skill whatsoever."

"It doesn't matter!" Jason tugged harder on the metal bonds, stealing his own breath away because of it. "It doesn't take any kind of fighting skill to beat the crap out of a loser like you!"

"Is that so?" King smirked and closed the door behind him as he left. "Good luck, buddy. Let's see if you can follow up your threat."

Jason screamed again and started doing running leaps towards the door, the metal bonds applying more and more painful pressure. No matter how much it hurt though, he refused to stop. "King, I'll beat that cell phone out of you! Do you hear me? Do you hear me?"

-------------------------

Flair casually stepped past the two guards in front of him, not even bothering to sheath his sword as they were both hurled backwards in a spray of their own blood. "Alita, do you even have any idea where he is being held?"

"Was I supposed to?" She asked, hand on her hip. "Can't we just tear through most of the guards here and find him?"

"You're not doing most of the fighting, and while alone these guards aren't too much I can only imagine that after another ten of them I'm going to need a break." Running his hand along the hilt of his katana, the samurai frowned at her. "I'm not a machine, Alita. Why not try to locate him through a divination spell?"

"Because if I do that then the alarms will go off." She glared at him. "Why are you complaining? I thought your skill was good enough to beat guys such as these sad little sacks of leather armor."

"It is, but I am a quickdraw swordsman." He noticed another pair of guards and disappeared, appearing alongside them both and slashing through them with his sword. "I can't move this fast forever."

"Well keep at it until we find him, alright?" She stomped past him and started yelling out Jason's name, hoping he would respond soon.

Right eye twitching, Flair wondered if she even realized what this place was…

--------------------------------

_Ten hours away…_

---------------------------------

"So that's what happened, huh?" A low laughter echoed across the cavernous blood red-colored throne room of Kyris the Hell.

"_That's correct, Lord Kyris,"_ The voice on the other end of the mirror hanging alongside the throne was that of Solaris, though it sounded rather strained. It was almost as if he was talking around a mouth full of cotton-balls. _"That traitor has his own agenda, as you thought."_

"That's enough then. I suggest you both hurry back to the castle." The mirror's mysterious red sheen faded away to indicate it was no longer connected to the hand mirror that the two servants were carrying with them. "It's as I thought, Yamuta. That King guy has his own plans and doesn't have any wish to serve me."

"You do not sound very upset by this turn of events." The voice came from off to the side of the shadowed throne.

"Why should I be?" A pair of blood-red eyes lit up the darkness, and off to the side of the throne a sheathed rapier was picked up. "I wasn't expecting King to follow my orders and infect the Grafter with The Hell, or that he would leave the Grafter to rot in Shunsuna. This is all going according to plan."

"Shall I prepare you a lunch?" Yamuta's voice spoke with the deepest respect behind it.

"No," Kyris slowly stood up, buckling the rapier to his side and brushing back a lock of his hair. "As nice as it would be to have something to eat after I let loose on Shunsuna and that annoying blowhard Regimond, it would be best if I at least made him think I intended on taking him seriously." His lips curled into a cold sneer. "I want to meet this Grafter so badly, but if King beat him so easily then I'm almost afraid that when I fight him that he'll accidentally be broken by my attacks."

"That may be one possible outcome." Yamuta laughed cheerfully. "However, if that is the case then why should you care? If his past reactions to danger are any indication that will just mean he'll find the situation all the more exciting."

"You're definitely right," The Hell touched the mirror alongside his throne, body already fading away. "I look forward to this fight with him and with King as well. Those two together might just make me actually need to use my sword."

--------------------------------

Daniel frowned and sheathed Future Edge, eyes looking out across the thundercloud-covered land between himself and the Blood Prison. "It seems all signs are pointing towards that hellish place. Sorry Deondre, but do you think you're up to a fight against the Warlord of the Lion?"

The Cross of Shadows shrugged his shoulders quietly, his face mask only showing his eyes and above. "Sure, let's see if two of us are enough to take him down."

----------------------------------

"KING!" Jason screamed louder and bashed his head against the metal welded to the wall that was holding his chains in place. "Tell me where they are! Give me that cell phone!" He slammed his skull against the metal plate again and drew blood as his forehead was cut open. "Fight me!"

-----------------------------------

Regimond smiled to himself, one hand resting on the handle of his mighty battle-axe. "This is the best feeling in the world. Already they are appearing, the mightiest warriors that this country has are gathering in this one place to fight against each other for various reasons. This is why this prison exists, as a place to occasionally cleanse the scum of Temarocia from the world by using them as cannon fodder against those who come here."

His hand reached out and touched the top of his crystal ball, the orb lighting up green. _"This is Lord Akutast. All guards are to head to your stations in preparation for the release of all prisoners' cells. Do you hear that, scum? That's right, your ears are not deceiving you. I have some intruders coming in, and that means you'll all get your chance to fight for your freedom. When those doors open, come out with the intent to kill everyone in your way…I hope you make good use of this chance, it doesn't come around often."_

Removing his hand from the crystal ball, the giant man sneered into it. "Of course if any of you survive I'll just kill you anyway, but at least this way you'll actually be willing to kill yourselves fighting my enemies."

_To be continued…_


	10. The strongest criminal in Shunsuna

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and the rules behind the Magical Battles.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 10: The strongest criminal in Shunsuna

"It seems that the big blowhard has decided to have another running," A low hissing noise echoed across the darkness of the cell used as their meeting place. "This is our best chance to escape, don't you agree Raiza?"

The sound of something being sharpened could be heard nearby, a glint of light coming from a blade. "Without a doubt. If we can escape now then there's no way Akutast could chase us down before we escape out of his territory."

"However," A third and much deeper voice spoke out. "Without Bull and his men we'll have some problems. Plus there is the problem of the 'price' that the old man wants in exchange for the gate keys."

"That's why he's out there with his boys." Raiza coughed out. "We just need to wait for him to return. And we also gotta make sure to avoid whoever set this running off."

------------------------

"Argh, where are you Flair?" Alita screamed out at the top of her lungs, wandering down the halls of the Bloody Prison with a powerful tornado-like barrier of wind around her body. "How can you possibly get lost when I was right in front of you?"

"Maybe he just wanted to run from your screech of a voice," A single rough-looking criminal with an axe yelled out as he dove out of hiding to strike her in half. "Die!"

Alita didn't even notice him as he was hurled straight through the stone ceiling above by the force of her barrier. "Flair! Hey Flair?"

"Wow, did you see that?" A pair of voices echoed out together.

"Yup. That was pretty scary." The speaker was a man with a metal brace across his lower jaw, giving him a permanent sneer. "What do you think boss?"

"I think she's the perfect candidate." A low shaking rumbled across the floor around Alita and a giant round-bodied bear of a man walked into view from around a corner.

"Excuse me kindly," Alita tried to walk through him, but her barrier flared to life and pushed her back a couple of steps. ("What? He's stronger than my barrier?")

"Sorry, miss," The bear-man rumbled out, revealing a row-full of rotten teeth. "My name is Massacre Bull, and if you want to get past here you're going to have to duel me." He lifted up one huge arm to reveal the Carrier there. "I'm going to be fair though and make it a normal duel. There's no need for a Life Deck, since I'm sure you know about my name."

Alita's right eye twitched fearfully and she stepped back. "Massacre…Bull? The same Massacre Bull that fought with Carime Anderson, the Captain of the Guards in Mudeia, and wound up fighting him to a standstill?"

Bull started laughing heartily. "That was a long time ago, little girl. Don't worry about that though, I told you that I wasn't going to use my Life Deck. This will just be a battle of skill between you and me."

"Is…Is that so?" Hands trembling, Alita summoned her Carrier and removed her Life Deck from it. "Alright then…but if I win then you have to help me find the guy I came here with."

"That's fine with me." Cracking his knuckles, Bull turned to look behind him. "Keep an eye out for the guards, boys!" The rest of his dozen person gang all yelled their understanding of the order. "Let's go, missy!"

"Duel!" They both yelled at once, drawing five cards from their decks.

Alita- 8000

Bull- 8000

"It's been so long since I've been in an ordinary duel or any kind of duel for that matter…" Bull flexed one massive arm and slammed his foot into the ground, cracking the stone floor underneath him. "Make sure you do your hardest, girl. The downsides to your losing will be very steep indeed."

Alita gulped fearfully. ("Massacre Bull, one of the most dangerous brute force criminals in the country. He was said to have gone toe to toe with Mudeia's Captain of the Guards and fight on the same level as him. This kind of opponent would be unstoppable if I dueled him and he used his Life Deck. Since he doesn't have it on him apparently, this is my best bet to beat him and get away with my life!")

She drew off the top of her deck. "I place one card face-down and one monster in defense mode." A pair of set cards appeared in front of her. "End turn."

"It's my move…" Bull snapped the top card off of his deck and the ground around them both shook. "Draw!" The card was flipped up and a powerful blast of wind shot across the field and pierced her set card, shattering it. "I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to clear away your set card before I begin my assault!"

Though this was disappointing, Alita had been smart enough not to set a card she was going to need later. ("I can live without having that Dust Tornado card, since that means the card advantage in this match is still mine.")

Bull hurled a card from his hand in front of him, the piece of cardboard disappearing and being replaced by a howling tri-horned dinosaur with a sword for a tail. "I summon Sabersaurus in attack mode!" (1900/500) Another card appeared on his field, this one keeping its shape but appearing extra large behind his monster. "And I'll also activate the continuous magic card Rage Crusher, which only has its effect going while I have no defense mode monsters on my field. When an attack mode monster on my field battles with a defense mode monster on your field, and the attack of my monster is higher than the defense of yours then the difference will be inflicted as battle damage to your life points!"

"What?" Alita screamed as the Sabersaurus tore through her set monster and crashed against the barrier of wind she instinctively managed to summon, though she could still feel the painful impact all throughout her body…it was just much duller than it could have been.

Alita- 7000

Bull- 8000

"My monster was Flying Kamakiri #1," Alita pulled her deck out of her Carrier and removed a card from it. "When this card is sent from my field to the graveyard as a result of battle I special summon a wind attribute monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to the field in attack mode!" A red-haired female humanoid covered from the neck down with feathers appeared on her field. "I summon Harpie Lady 1 in attack mode!" (1300/1400)

"End turn." Bull grinned at the blond-haired girl that barely came up to his waist. "You're either stronger than you look or you are insane for coming to the Bloody Prison, little one."

"Draw!" Alita refused to listen to someone make fun of her, regardless of whether he was a dangerous criminal or not. "I activate the magic card Elegant Egotist, which can only activate if I have a Harpie Lady in play!" A trio of different-looking feathered females appeared alongside her first monster. "From my hand or deck one Harpie Lady Sisters will be special summoned!" (1950/2100)

"I see, so you've summoned a pair of powerful monsters?" Bull chuckled heartily, his muscles rippling under his torn prisoner's shirt. "However, that alone will not be enough to defeat me."

"You're jumping to conclusions if you think I'm done!" She threw another card in front of her and a bear-sized little dragon appeared in play. "I summon Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon in attack mode!" (1200/600) The baby creature roared loudly and flapped its wings a couple of times. "And now for their special effects! First the special ability of my Baby Dragon is that for every monster in play with Harpie in its name besides itself that it gains a new effect."

A golden chain went from the dragon's collar to the waiting talons of her Harpie Lady 1. "When there is at least one Harpie in play this monster becomes a guard to them all, making it so you can't attack the rest of them until you get past it."

Another series of chains appeared, connecting the dragon to the trio off to its other side. "If I have two or more in play then this guy gets the first effect and his original attack and defense are doubled too!" The dragon roared loudly and started glowing. (2400/1200)

Bull threw back his head, his booming laughter growing louder and louder. "Your dueling skills are definitely befitting a member of my powerful crew. Of course that does mean that you will win this duel."

"Stop complimenting me! You're my enemy, right?" She pointed at her Harpie Lady 1, which started glowing. "The effect of Harpie Lady 1 increases the attack of all wind attribute monsters in play by 300 points!" (1600/1400) (2250/2100) (2700/1200) "Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, attack Sabersaurus now! Inferno Shot!" The infant creature released a jet of flames that hit the dinosaur and burned it to ash instantly.

Alita- 7000

Bull- 7200

"And now for a blast from my two ladies!" Alita smiled triumphantly as her two monsters launched across the field and slashed Bull across the chest with their talons. "How did that feel, huh?"

Alita- 7000

Bull- 3350

"Not too bad," The criminal ran a hand through his bushy beard and gave her a full grin of his rotten teeth. "You've got some good moves as a duelist, but the battle has only yet to begin."

"I was afraid you'd say that," She murmured meekly. "I set one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

"And now it's time for me to show off my strength!" He drew again and the cavern shook. "I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck and adding them to my hand." Looking the cards over, he started laughing. "Ah, it's about time I brought forth some of my deck's power! I special summon Gilasaurus, meaning that now you special summon a monster from your graveyard to the field." A raptor appeared on his field, hissing angrily at the gathered Harpie monsters. (1400/400)

"That's fine by me!" Her Flying Kamakiri #1, a preying mantis-like monster, appeared on her field alongside the rest of her monsters in defense mode. (1400/900)

"It should be, a free monster is nothing to make fun of." He threw a card up in front of him and his Gilasaurus disappeared. "I activate the magic card Great Evolution Pill, which lets me sacrifice a dinosaur type monster on my field to activate it. This card remains on my field for three turns. While it is in play I can normal summon a dinosaur monster from my hand to the field without sacrifice."

"Without sacrifice?" Alita's eyes widened as the hallway was suddenly filled from top to bottom with the giant body of a huge spike-bodied dinosaur appeared between her and the criminal. "That creature…"

"This is my Ultimate Tyranno!" (3000/2200) Bull started laughing again as the creature roared with enough force to shake the chamber. "He will attack all monsters on your field one after another during the battle phase! Before I do that though I play the field magic card Jurassic World!" The stone walls disappeared, replaced by huge tropical trees. "While this card is in play all dinosaur type monsters gain 300 attack and defense points!" (3300/2500) "Ultimate Tyranno, attack her Baby Dragon now!"

Alita screamed as her barrier was rattled again when the giant dinosaur stomped on her monster and hit her with the shockwave. ("So this is the magical power of a top security level criminal exiled to Shunsuna…")

Alita- 6400

Bull- 3350

"Ultimate Tyranno, attack her Harpie Lady 1 now!" Bull couldn't be seen, but he didn't have to be for his powerful voice not to reach Alita's ears.

The blond-haired girl screamed again as the mighty dinosaur chomped down on her monster with its powerful jaws. ("I can't keep my barrier up much longer…") She dropped to her knees.

Alita- 4700

Bull- 3350

"And once more!" Bull heard another scream and there was a sudden decompressing blast of air that pushed against his Ultimate Tyranno for a moment. "That was the end of your barrier and your Harpie Lady Sisters!"

Alita- 3550

Bull- 3350

Alita screamed louder as the Ultimate Tyranno stamped down on her Flying Kamakiri, hitting her with the backlash and throwing her backwards until her skull crashed against the heavy wooden door that connected this hallway to the next. She slid down to the ground slowly, eyes squeezed closed.

Alita- 1150

Bull- 3350

Bull cracked his knuckles and waited patiently for a response from the other side of his far too big monster. "Come now dear, are you dead just from that?"

"I can't surrender here…" Alita stumbled to her feet, though for some reason she couldn't quite see straight. ("I must have gotten a concussion from that impact against the door…") She drew from her deck. ("Flair, I can fight on my own without your help. I can do this!") "I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck!"

("So she hasn't given up yet?") Bull couldn't help but smile. "I can't help but feel that perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye, young miss."

"I activate Giant Trunade!" A powerful wind swept across the hallway. "This card will return all magic and trap cards in play to their owner's hands!" At the same time her set card flipped up. "I also activate the trap card Royal Records! At the cost of 1000 life points this card replaces itself with the top card of my graveyard!" The trap disappeared and her Pot of Greed appeared face-down on her field, followed by which it appeared in her hand.

Alita- 150

Bull- 3350

Bull added the three returned magic cards to his hand with a large smile on his face. ("A card returned by Royal Records normally cannot be activated during the turn it is set, but by using Giant Trunade she escapes that limitation. Now she can use her Pot of Greed and draw two more cards.")

"I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two cards!" Adding two more cards to her hand, Alita held up another card. "I activate Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two!" A pair of cards in her hand disappeared and she nodded weakly to what she was holding. ("In this battle only my skill will make the difference. My magic cannot help me in this duel.")

Another Harpie Lady 1 appeared on her field in defense mode. "I summon this lady in defense, and then I play another Elegant Egotist to special summon another Harpie Lady Sisters from my deck to the field in defense mode!" Another trio of feathered women appeared on her field. (1300/1400) (1950/2100) "Also I set three cards face-down on my field and end my turn!"

"Draw!" Bull looked at his drawn card and then flipped it over. "I activate Pot of Shining! This magic card lets me draw five cards from my deck, after which I discard all monsters amongst those five. Once that is done I then discard a number of cards equal to the number I drew, excluding the discarded monsters." He did so, quickly emptying a good number of cards into his graveyard slot and leaving him with four cards in his hand. "I activate Rage Crusher, which while in play allows my monster to deal damage through defense!"

Alita concentrated, doing the best she could to not run in fear as she felt the steamy atmosphere of Jurassic World return and the terrifying Ultimate Tyranno somehow push its massive body down the hallway towards her. "I will not run from you, regardless of how powerful you might be! Massacre Bull, I am Alita Meijer, Adventurer and leader of the Alita's Adventuring Company!"

"Just sounding brave won't be enough to beat me!" Bull smirked as he heard his Ultimate Tyranno stomp its foot down on the Harpie Lady 1.

"You're getting a bit ahead of yourself." Alita smiled calmly as the Ultimate Tyranno suddenly disappeared in a burst of flames, revealing her field. "You triggered my trap card."

"That shouldn't work while my Jurassic World field magic card is…" Bull gasped down at his hand, where the field magic card was now located. "How did you do that?"

"It's thanks to this card," Alita motioned to the center set card on her field. "It's called Royal Order, which sends one magic or trap card on the field back to the owner's hand and negates its effect." Her hand moved over to point at another of her set cards. "I also activated Icarus Attack, which lets me sacrifice a winged beast monster on my field to destroy two of your cards. I gave up my Harpie Lady 1 to take care of your continuous magic card and Ultimate Tyranno!"

"I see." Bull chuckled heartily. "You're quick on the response, girl. Even though I'm not exactly on the top of my game, for you to put me in such a dangerous position is definitely something to be proud of."

"Is your turn done or what?" Alita crossed her arms across her chest confidently, now sure that this man was just desperate to buy time.

"Not at all. I activate the magic card Scrounging for Supplies, which lets me shuffle any number of cards from my graveyard into my deck. For every four cards shuffled back in I draw one card afterwards." He removed the twelve cards in his graveyard and shuffled them into his deck before drawing three new ones.

"You…you replenished your hand that easily?" Her arms dropped to her sides as she realized that this opponent may not be as easy to defeat as she had hoped.

"Of course." Bull held up his Pot of Shining, drawing five cards, discarding three monsters, and then discarding two cards to make up the difference in the card's effect. "And now I activate Jurassic World again!" The giant tropical trees of the field magic card appeared in play again. "Also I activate the magic card End of an Era, removing all face-up monsters on the field from the game!" A series of fireballs pounded the field and completely obliterated the Harpie Lady Sisters. "As a downside the Jurassic World that must be in play for this card to work is also removed from the game." A pair of cards appeared face-down on his field. "I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Alita drew from her deck, eyes trembling in fear. ("If I lose here then I'll die…") Those words kept echoing in her mind, and she suddenly couldn't even bring herself to look at the card she had drawn. ("I don't want to die…I don't want to die…")

"What's the matter?" Bull glanced back at the snickering that was coming from the rest of his gang. "Shut your faces, boys. This little lady is obviously terrified of the big bad scary criminals here." His face cracked into a broken smile, showing off his terrible dental hygiene. "She came here expecting to find teddy bears or something like that."

The rest of his men broke out into hearty laughter.

------------------------

_Jason's confident look faded, and his fists clenched tightly in quivering anger. "I'm always the underdog in every conflict I've ever fallen into. I'm the guy that winds up getting laughed at, or made a fool of, or just outright beaten to a pulp. And then I fought that Shadow Duelist, and I was dying just like I am right now. In that moment I felt like a hero that was killing himself to make sure the villain stayed down…"_

--------------------------

"What's so funny?" Alita asked quietly, her blond bangs hanging in front of her face. "Do you dirty apes think it's amusing to pick on a girl? Are you such a group of cowards that you can't even treat an opponent like me with a little bit of respect?"

Bull's laughter stopped and he smirked at her. ("She sounds different now…like she's made a resolution…")

"Even if it takes my life to do it, I'll crush all of you!" Alita threw the drawn card in front of her and it appeared set on her field. "End turn!"

Bull drew slowly, his eyes lifted slightly in amusement. ("Let's see what you've got, little one.") "I discard one card from my hand to activate Fossil Excavation. This continuous trap card lets me revive one dinosaur from my graveyard to the field in attack mode!" A cute little baby dinosaur appeared on his field. "My choice is Babycerasaurus!" (500/500) "Direct attack!" The little creature waddled across the field towards her rapidly. "Alita Meijer, show me your resolve to win! Put it all on the line!"

"I don't need your permission to do that!" Her black robes blowing around her body, Alita motioned to one of her set cards. "I activate The Paths of Destiny! Both of us now flip a coin. If we get heads then we gain 2000 life points. If we get a tails we lose 2000 life points!"

The rest of Bull's gang gasped in surprise at this. She was really going to risk her life on a coin flip.

Bull erupted into laughter. "Interesting…let's see what the final outcome will be!" A gold coin appeared in front of him. Grabbing it out of the air he flipped it up above him at the same time as she did so with hers. They both came down with incredible force, kicking up huge clouds of dust…

When the dust cleared Bull's gang gasped in complete surprise.

Alita sneered coldly. "From the looks of it I just got a heads and you just got a tails." A golden aura lit up around her at the same time that Bull was surrounded by a burning red aura.

Alita- 2150

Bull- 1350

Bull threw back his head and laughed heartily again while his baby dinosaur butted heads with Alita cutely. "I lost this standoff. You have, without a doubt, shown that in a battle of guts you can win." The giant round-bodied man bowed to her slightly, though whether he was mocking her or not the rest of his gang was unsure. "Alita Meijer, I will take you seriously. End turn."

Alita- 1650

Bull- 1350

"Draw!" Alita looked at the drawn card and she grinned, throwing the card in front of her as an orange-haired feathered female appeared in play before her. "I summon Harpie Lady 2 in attack mode!" (1300/1400) "With this I can finish this duel!"

"Unfortunately…" Bull's set card flipped up slowly, revealing a picture of a raging torrent of water. "The trap card Torrential Tribute triggers now, destroying all monsters in play." A powerful shockwave of water washed over them both and then faded, leaving them both with no monsters in play.

Alita frowned angrily. "Darn it, you had a trap ready for me. It's okay though, I can still win this…"

"I'm sorry, Alita Meijer, but you cannot." Bull removed a card from his deck and threw it in front of him. "The effect of my Babycerasaurus is that when it is destroyed by an effect it special summons a level four or lower dinosaur from my deck to the field!" His Sabersaurus appeared in play and roared powerfully. (1900/500) "Draw!" He held the card up strongly, a blast of wind arching across the field and shattering Alita's set card. "Mystical Space Typhoon…I'm sorry."

Alita screamed in pain and collapsed as the Sabersaurus powered right through her, nearly sending her through the thick wooden door with its attack.

Alita- 0

Bull- 1350

As the field disappeared Bull had his head lowered and his fists clenched tightly. ("The lives of my boys or your freedom. I'm sorry, Alita Meijer, but I cannot sacrifice them for you.") "Hurry up and get the potion ready for her." He noticed that a couple of his boys were leering at the unconscious girl in a rather lecherous. "If any of you touch her beyond giving her the potion I'll snap your necks, you got it?"

------------------------

"Damn it, where am I now?" Flair screamed before running past a pair of armed criminals and cutting them down easily before heading off down the hallway in front of him and out of sight. "Alita, where are you?"

A few seconds later Daniel and Deondre stepped into view from the direction that Flair had originally come from. "That's weird," Daniel muttered. "I could swear I just heard Flair's voice."

"You did," Deondre replied sharply, pointing down the hallway. "He went that way."

"If Flair is here though…" The Seer's right eye started twitching rapidly. "What is Princess Alita doing here?"

"Princess Alita, eh?" A low laughter came from behind them, and they were immediately on their guard with their weapons drawn as they turned to face the speaker. "That would explain who the mystery girl you five have been searching for so hard these last few weeks is."

"Yo Kyris, it's been a while." Daniel joked, though the sweat dripping down the side of his forehead spoke otherwise. ("What the hell is he doing here so quickly?")

"This is a surprise for me too." The shadows around him dropped slowly to reveal a young boy that couldn't have been any older than fifteen or sixteen. "I find it amazing to think that the three of us would just run into each other this quickly…though it seems we're after different things today." His long red hair blowing behind, the red-shirted and red-panted boy drew his rapier and held it up in a fencing stance at the two Guardians of Mudeia. "So what do you say, boys? Shall we fight?"

"It doesn't look like we have a choice." Daniel drew Future Edge from its sheath while Deondre pulled a pair of long black stilettos out of his suit's sleeves. "Let's see if you've improved since the last time we met in battle, Kyris."

"I pose the same question to you." Then the red-haired boy erupted within a pulsing inferno of blood-red energy.

_To be continued…_


	11. A Chance Encounter

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia and everything in it though.

_From the logs of Regimond Akutast, Warlord of Lions:_

_I got another report of a meeting between those four again. It seems that Ruerto has started to make his move, speaking with one of my gate-keepers. I can only assume they made some kind of bizarre deal to earn their freedom during the next running, so I'll have to keep a close eye on them._

_Ruerto Masquil, the ex-general who went berserk one day and killed 5000 of his own men within the course of ten minutes. Even stripped of the magical weapons that allowed him to do such an incredible feat he still is a dangerous foe thanks to his mastery of strategy and because of the strange ability he possesses._

_His accomplices are also dangerous. Massacre Bull the brute. Raiza the Knive. Guzmo the Traitor. Those four, when working together, are definitely something to worry about. Oh well, let them plot. They won't escape this place as long as I draw breath._

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 11: A Chance Encounter

The Warlord of Lions sat back in his huge leather chair and smiled darkly at the images he was watching in his crystal ball. "It's so beautiful. The carnage these scum bring with them when they think their lives can be saved." He threw back his head and started laughing humorously. "To think, though, that I'd have two Guardians of Mudeia and Kyris the Hell in my midst already! That's the kind of outcome I could normally only dream of."

"Sir," One of the guards off to the side asked. "What about the other intruders? Like that one guy wearing the weird black clothes?"

"Leave them be," The Warlord sneered into the deep expanse of his orb's vision, looking in on the room where the two Guardians and The Hell were clashing. "All of them are of no consequence to me until after the running has come to pass."

------------------------

King side-stepped a rusty sword aimed for his head and sent a crushing roundhouse kick across the faces of the three criminals in front of him, easily sending them to the ground. "You guys just aren't trying hard enough. Come on, I need to warm up for this match!" He glanced back at the door to the interrogation room where Jason was located, and where the fool was still screaming out the fake Frenchman's name at the top of his lungs. "Come on Jace, I know you can break free of that."

------------------------

Jason screamed at the top of his lungs again and slammed his skull against the metal drilled into the wall, nearly knocking himself unconscious in that one moment as fireworks went off in his brain. "I…need…to…get…outta…here…" He could hear blood dripping somewhere nearby, but his eyes wouldn't work anymore. "Wait for me…Sai…"

"I've heard that wild animals chew off their own legs when they're caught in traps, but even this is way too stupid of an escape method for even an animal to use." A low sigh came from somewhere nearby, and the sound of a chair creaking onto its back legs could be heard.

"Who's there?" Jason collapsed his back against the wall and felt warm blood running down over his eyes, though it didn't matter since he still couldn't see anything. "You here to execute me?"

"Nope." The voice sounded absolutely bored. "I just heard some commotion over the grapevine about a new Grafter that had taken down one of lower officers of Kyris the Hell within the first hour of his birth. That you?"

"Yeah, that's me." Jason sneered coldly, finally getting some of his vision back. All he could see though was a flowing black cape. "Why, you wanna fight?"

"Psh, don't be stupid. If I had come to kill you then you'd be dead, and fighting you like you are would be a waste of time." The man tipped his broad-rimmed black hat back slightly to reveal his golden eyes. "I will tell you this though, kid. You're not very special if you lost that quickly."

"Shut up before I show you how not special I am." Jason squirmed in his bonds, arms straining.

"It's no good trying to break out of there with your Graft." The man crossed his legs and sighed. "Kid, what's the point of fighting against this fate? Why are you battling to free yourself?"

"To kick the ass of a certain blond-haired jerk I know, and then to go rescue my crew." Jason answered this question without any hesitation in his voice.

"Is that it? Can you really be so short-sighted? Is that all your life is, a list of obstacles with no goal in sight?" The man's hat fell over his face and his left arm draped over the back of the crude wooden chair. "Are you really that not worried about your future?"

"You're damn right!" Jason smiled proudly. "I learned when I was kid that if you get too lost in the future that the opportunities of the present will pass you by. That lesson is something I take to heart now, and whenever I start getting too swept up in the stupid drama that erupts around me I remind myself that the world is waiting for me. My goals right now are simple. One is to find King and pummel him, and two is to locate Sai and save her. Beyond that I'll just wing it."

The man threw back his head and started laughing. "Unbelievable, you're the first Grafter I've ever seen who would say something so crazy." His upper lip curled into a crazy grin. "Kid, I like you. Therefore I'm gonna give you a little bit of advice concerning your Graft."

"Heh, sure…let's hear it." Jason closed his eye, feeling a little more at peace now.

"A Graft has a certain integration level with its owner based on the overall similarities and differences between the two." The man stood up and readjusted his wide-brimmed hat. "If you're too hot-headed and the monster your Graft is based on is icy cold then you'll wind up with a combination way too unstable. You can't forget that your Graft is a living creature in your body. If you can work together with it properly then you'll achieve a level of power far stronger than the parts. If you really want to kick the asses of the guys outside this door, then you'll have to find the best way to harness the abilities of your Grafts."

"The best way…" Jason heard a click from below him and the bonds that fastened his arms to his sides went slack, falling to the wayside. "You're freeing me huh?"

"Consider it a service you can pay me back for another time." The man stood up and swept his cape around his body. "Let me offer you a bit of advice though, kid."

"The name ain't kid." Jason groaned and shrugged off the metal bonds, using his now free hands to wipe the blood from his eyes. "Speak up though, what is it you want to tell me?"

"It's about Wild Fusions, something you better keep your eye out for," The man chuckled at the young man's offended tone when he was called a kid. "A Wild Fusion is a sealed orb resembling a jewel about the size of an apple. Think of them as Grafts, but with a will of their own to be absorbed by something."

"A creature that was a Prize Card but wants to be a living creature again, so it lets itself get consumed by a person so it can experience life again?" Jason chuckled weakly and propped himself against the wall of the cell. "That sounds like a pretty sweet deal."

"It is, expect it's got a pretty big downside for some people," The man grinned darkly. "I just thought I'd give you a heads-up about them. The people that have those abilities are called Graftborn, a big difference because they can have other powers from other classes unlike Grafters. Of course that doesn't explain why the Grafter was such a feared class in its time, so let's see what the deal is...shall we?"

He tipped his hat to Jason. "The name's Wing, by the way. See you later, Jason Valerio." Bowing, he suddenly was swallowed up by the shadows of the room and disappeared.

"…" Jason shrugged his shoulders and brought his attention on the door in front of him. "Alright King, it's time to beat your…" He stopped with his eyes wide as he realized that someone was fighting right outside the interrogation room. "It sounds like I'm missing out on all the fun!"

---------------------------------

blood dripping the side of his head, King screamed in pain as he was slapped through the air and into the wall across the hallway, sliding down it leaving red streaks behind him. "You chivalry-challenged cur, where are the bunch of you going with a beautiful lady such as that treasure?" His words were strong, but the tone to them was weak after how much damage he had sustained from the heavy blows this opponent was capable of throwing.

"Where were we going?" Bull laughed heartily before his expression suddenly turned displeased and he back-handed the fake Frenchman down the hallway roughly. "Why should you care, you bowl-haired weirdo?"

"Why should I care, huh?" King stood up and flicked a cigarette into his mouth. "I care because it's the opinion of everyone that is a true gentleman that when a bunch of smelly criminals are walking around with a blond-haired vision of loveliness over their shoulder it can only mean bad things!" He leapt forward and slammed the hell of his right shoe into Bull's chin, sending a shockwave across the room.

The rest of the Massacre's gang started laughing quietly after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence floated through the room.

"Is there any particular reason you're…" King gasped in surprise as Bull grabbed his head in one meaty hand and started squeezing his skull.

"They're laughing," Bull winced as the young man went into a frenzy of kicks against his heavy body, trying to break his crushing grip. "Because they know an idiot when they see one. I'm Massacre Bull, you little fishbowl, or does that not matter to a man of chivalry?" He started spinning around rapidly, twirling King's body with him like it was a rag doll. "I wonder if a gentleman's neck will snap like the neck of any other ordinary guy?"

The rest of his gang started laughing merrily at they watched their boss smash the blond-haired young man through rough formations of rocks, one after another, until King stopped struggling. "Hey Boss, I think you broke your toy."

"Yeah, you're right!" Bull continued laughing as he discarded the unmoving body of King off to his side, wiping the blood that stained his palm against the nearby wall. "Oh well, that kid got what was coming to him. Now let's hurry up, I'm sure the General isn't going to care what our reason was if we don't show up with the price that weirdo gatekeeper wanted."

"Hold it, you big pile of dung." King slowly stumbled to his feet, legs trembling as he lit up another cigarette and took a puff from it. "I won't back down just because of a few broken bones and some blood, so let's keep this fight going. As a gentleman I can't let you harm that lady!"

"Shut up King!" Jason exploded out of the interrogation room and landed a powerful kick to the fake Frenchman's head, flooring him. "You just want her to hang off of you when you rescue her, you pervert!" He turned to glare at Bull. "What're you looking at, tubby?"

"Tubby?" The criminal threw back his head and started laughing heartily. "I like this guy, he's got guts." He reached over and grabbed Alita, throwing the still unconscious girl over his shoulder. "Now though, it's time for us to get to work. Thanks for getting that other guy out of the way."

"…" Jason lifted up one hand slowly. "Hold it, that girl over your shoulder isn't going anywhere. Sorry, but she's with me."

"Well I'm sorry too, but unfortunately if you want her then you'll have to fight me for her." Bull showed off his mouth of ruined teeth. "Do you think you can do it? Can you beat me where your kicking friend couldn't?"

"It doesn't matter whether I can or can't. I will." Jason cracked his knuckles and summoned his Carrier. "You ready to go? I feel like beating the hell out of you…"

"An Adventurer's Duel?" Bull grinned widely and his own Carrier appeared, Life Deck in place. "It's been such a long time, but I can't help myself. Alright, you gutsy little man, let's do it!"

"That's the spirit," Jason sneered. "Don't go running off crying when I destroy you."

"We'll see who gets destroyed in this fight." Bull shouldered Alita to one of his men and tapped the top of his deck five times, the five cards disappearing. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Not yet." Jason narrowed his eyes and glared down at his Life Deck. ("Stonequill wouldn't last long against a guy that could take King's kicks, and Subzero Shark would wind up having similar problems since there isn't a lot of room to maneuver.") A slow sneer crossed his face. "I've decided then, based on what that one guy said. Right now I feel like absolutely beating the living daylights out of you…and there's only one Graft I can think of that would do that perfectly."

"Graft?" Bull blinked in surprise at those words. "Did you say Graft?"

Jason smirked savagely. "Afraid? Don't waste your energy; you'll need it in a second." Then he disappeared within a burning pillar of fire that hit the ceiling above.

"A Grafter…" Bull licked his lips in anticipation. "One of the legendary classes not seen for 400 years…"

"That might be true…" The flames died down to reveal Jason with fire-red hair and eyes, a series of molten tattoos running down his bare arms and smoldering with the power of magma. "But I don't care about stupid facts like that." He sneered and tapped the top of his deck five times. "I just intend to kick your ass, that's all."

Bull- 8000/12000 (2000/2000)

Jason- 8000/5000 (1700/300)

"That's fine; I was hoping you'd be so straightforward." Bull tapped the top of his deck and charged down the hallway towards Jason rapidly. "I activate the technique card Crushing Body Slam!" Shoulder out, he prepared to run the boy over like a car running over a rabbit.

"I activate the technique card Inferno Illusion!" Jason smirked as the air around him grew hot and smoky, and there was suddenly a dozen of him in the hallway. "Come on, let's see you find the real one!"

"Who needs to find the real one?" Bull ran through all of them at once, eleven of them disappearing in a burst of embers while the real one was carried into the wall by the man's massive body. "And just so you know, my special ability doubles all battle damage that both myself and my opponent receives."

Bull- 8000/11500

Jason- 4000/4400

Jason coughed up a spray of blood, eyes squinted shut as he felt his bones being compressed roughly.

"Do you see now, my power?" Bull smirked and grabbed Jason by the head roughly. "I activate the spell card Combo, allowing me to play another technique and attack again!" His meaty palm engulfed the boy's head and started spinning around rapidly. "I activate the technique card Super Body Spin! For every object you hit you'll take 500 effect damage, and in this hallway it's inevitable that you'll be finished off by this attack!"

--------------------------

Daniel twisted backwards while blocking a wave of blood-red fire that erupted from Kyris's rapier and nearly burned him. "You don't seem to be giving this fight your full attention."

"You'd be correct." Kyris side-stepped Deondre as the Assassin attempted to stab him in the back. "I'm more concerned with the young men fighting to try and rescue your precious Princess Alita."

"What did you say?" Daniel launched forward and tried to land a blow, but quickly found himself hurtling backwards as Deondre shoulder-tackled him out of the way of a roaring series of sword slashes that left the air glowing a blood-red color in their wake.

"Calm down," The Cross of Shadows whispered into his friend's ear. "If you keep at it like this then it won't matter whether the princess is in danger or not. Focus. You aren't a fighter, you're a seer. So start seeing what he is going to do, and let us try to end this fight as quickly as possible."

"As much as you wish it was that easy," Kyris held his sword out in front of him and smiled leisurely. "I have to disappoint you by saying that one man's ability to predict the future won't help you beat me if you can't do anything about it."

"We'll just have to test that theory, now won't we?" Daniel pushed his grey glasses up the bridge of his nose and held Future Edge in front of him. **"Fifteen Second Prediction!"**

"Fifteen seconds?" Kyris suddenly leapt forward, slashing downwards and quickly switching directions as he appeared to the Seer's side in mid-swing. "You don't have…" His eyes widened barely as he realized that his attack was suddenly blocked, Daniel having already moved into position to stop him.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Kyris," The Seer grinned mildly as The Hell was forced to quickly retreat before he got a pair of stilettos in the spine. "But if the princess is here then we can't afford to lose to you. This battle will be ours!"

----------------------------------

Bull dropped the bloody body of Jason in front of him and gripped his head in his hands, groaning dizzily. "I think I might have overdone it…"

Bull- 8000/10000

Jason- 500/4400

Teeth clenched tightly in pain, Jason suddenly stood up. For a few moments it looked like he was ready to continue, and then he collapsed to his knees coughing up a spray of blood.

"It looks like this fight is already over." Bull sighed sadly. "If this is the level of your power then what can you protect? Even the fishbowl hair boy lasted longer than that."

"…damn it…" Jason's fist clenched so tightly that the blood coming from it stopped. "I won't lose here. I swore I'd kick your ass, and that's exactly what I'll do! I'll burn you away!" He screamed and forced himself to stand, the molten glow of his tattoos growing brighter and brighter. "It's my turn!"

After tapping the top card of his deck he suddenly launched forward and slammed his knee into Bull's stomach, sending the large-bodied man skidding backwards into a wall. "I'm tired of it…"

"Huh?" Bull had barely been affected by his impact against the wall. "What are you tired of?"

"I'm tired of losing." Jason's wounds started to sizzle loudly. "I'm tired of being in last place. I will win this fight!" Then he disappeared. ("You said that if my outlook matched the outlook of my Graft that I'd be stronger, right Wing? Well this is the moment of proof! Will I become stronger or not?")

Bull looked around the small hallway in confusion. "Are you running away, boy? Did you get scared of losing your life?"

Jason appeared down the hallway a little bit, his trademark sneer on his face. "If I ran away from a fight then my life wouldn't be worth anything…and why not gamble if what you're using doesn't mean a thing to you?"

Bull's eyes widened in surprise. ("That sounds just like Alita Meijer…") "I see, so you're the reason she changed demeanors when threatened." His lips curled into a smile and he tapped the top of his deck. "It's my turn, since your shoulder tackle was your attack. It was a wasted effort though, I'm sorry to tell you!" Roaring out he charged towards Jason with one burly fist out to strike.

"Boss!" One of Bull's men yelled out. "He grabbed the girl and the fishbowl haircut guy!"

"What?" Bull blinked in realization, seeing Alita and King behind Jason in the hallway. "What's the meaning of this? Are you going to try and run away with them both?"

"Nope." Jason smiled savagely, the glow around his body getting brighter. "I just didn't want them getting caught in the blast radius…or haven't you noticed something? Just take a good whiff and you'll smell it."

Bull's nostrils flared open, and he immediately blanched. "Lamp Oil?"

"That's right!" Jason hurled the two metal torches he had removed from the wall at Bull. "You said that all battle damage you received would be double…well let's see if that is true or not!"

Bull sputtered and stumbled back as the two extinguished pieces of metal sprayed him with lamp oil. "What does this accomplish?"

"This accomplishes everything." Jason grinned. "I activate the spell card Surprise Attack, letting me use one technique card from my hand. Any damage you receive from that attack is treated as if I scored a direct attack with it! And my choice of technique is Inferno Roar, increasing my attack by 400 and giving me a nice ranged spray attack to use!" Taking a huge deep breath, he exhaled a spray of fire that tore down the hallway, igniting the lamp oil that was soaking everything and turning the entire hallway into an oven. (2100/300) (2100 fire damage doubled by effect of oil, doubled by effect of opponent 8400)

Bull- 0/10000

Jason- 500/8900

Amidst the hellish screams of his men as they were burned alive, Bull could stare in astonishment at the red-haired boy framed in his vision as he fell to the ground. ("It's been so long since I've fought, yet for him to beat me…have I truly been that rusty?")

---------------------

Kyris skipped back out of range of a powerful silver-colored slash that left a shimmering tear in the air for a few moments in its wake. There was a strange smile on his face though, as he was still not very worried about the outcome of this fight. ("So the Grafter defeated Massacre Bull huh?") "It seems like your princess is safe, gentlemen."

"That's just dandy." Deondre dropped his sash off to his side and removed his face-mask. "It seems I'll have to take off the kiddy gloves as well though."

"You do what you must, I suppose." Kyris grinned cheerfully at the two right before they began again.

_To be continued…_


	12. Shunsuna Standoff

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though.

Ten years ago…

"_Who's there?" A weak and yet somehow strong voice called out._

"_It is I, your majesty," Daniel kneeled before the sickbed. "You called for me?"_

"_Yes I did, Daniel…" A hand reached out and placed itself on top of the Apprentice Seer's head. "You'll have to excuse me, I cannot see very well…"_

"_I swore that I would be your…" Daniel gasped as the King's hand dropped over his mouth to silence him._

"_I understand that, but such a thing cannot save my life. My fate was decided when I fought against the Warlord of Hell's Inferno…and was struck by his sword. No matter what happens I do not want to see that fate befall any of you…like it befell your masters."_

"_Your majesty," Daniel pulled back slightly. "Please don't talk like this. If you continue speaking in such a manner it would sound like you're actually going to fall…"_

"_Do not fool yourself!" The King's hand shot out and grabbed the collar of the boy's collar. "I will not live to see tomorrow. You, as a Seer, should have that feeling."_

"_I don't want to accept that fate, I will fight it." Daniel pulled his grey glasses out of his pocket. "I will fight against it, even if it costs me my life. I swore, on that day, that as long as I drew breath I would protect the royal family and Mudeia!"_

"_Then protect her," The King patted the young man on the head with a weak hand. "I will die soon. Protect Alita. Keep her safe…do not forget that while the Warlord of Hell's Inferno is now dead that his son still walks the earth. He will not rest until he had accomplished his father's task and even though he is only five now…"_

"_He killed an entire platoon of our best soldiers," Daniel remembered the bloodshed and the screaming most of all; because he could also remember the visions he had received while touching the weapons on the ground at that site of horror. "He killed over a hundred men in a few strokes of his sword. Just like his father, he is a monster…"_

"_Such is the power of a Graftborn. All of them are monsters held within a human frame." The King sighed quietly and settled back against his bed. "Kyris was his name… the boy I mean?"_

"_Yes, his name was Kyris." Daniel's hands clenched tighter as he recalled the visions in more detail. "He is a child that is the spitting image of his father. A beast with hair as red as blood, and eyes of the same type. No matter what else happens, I will never forget that look on his face when he slaughtered those men…it was overjoyed, as if the death of his father meant nothing to him at all."_

"_Regardless, do not ever back down from this challenge. Protect Alita, and never let Kyris harm her. Fight him with your very last breath…"_

-------------------------------------

Deondre grasped his stilettos, both of the thin weapons pulsing with purple light. **"Poison Strike."** Then he disappeared, appearing right above Kyris's head and striking with his full force.

"It useless to try and catch me off guard," The boy tilted his head up to smile at the Assassin, blocking the two killing weapons with his sword and then rolling up into the air right past him. "You're far too slow!" He drop-kicked Deondre to the ground, though before he could strike a finishing blow he had to block a sword aimed for his head. "You too, Seer, don't you think that if your ability to see into the future could have taken me down it would have by now?"

"Regardless of whether it will work or not, I can't lose to you!" Daniel's eyes were pure grey now, his mind plunged about fifteen seconds into the most probable future events. "No matter what happens, I will protect her from you!"

"Sure, it sounds like fun." Kyris blocked a flurry of strikes aimed for his vital points. "Keep in mind though, Seer, that if you can't even catch me how will you stop me from…" His eyes widened as for just a moment there was a crystal sword edge against his neck before he knocked it away. "I see you've definitely improved since last time…"

("Whoever protected Princess Alita, please keep her safe for just a while longer.") Daniel could no longer see the room he was in; instead he was standing atop a rotating crystal platform that existed only in his mind's eye. ("Keep her safe, I beg of you!")

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 12: Shunsuna Standoff

King awoke screaming. "HOT!"

Jason removed his hand from his now-smoldering friend. "That takes care of The Hell. Well, now that you've got a clean bill of health from Dr. Valerio…"

"Clean bill of health my ass!" Suddenly moving, King did a handstand and spun on his palms, slamming the side of his foot against Jason's head and sending him flying. "What's the matter with you? Do you get off burning guys when they're trying to sleep off their injuries?"

"Shut up!" Leaping to his feet and having already returned to his normal shape, Jason pointed angrily at the bowl-haired young man. "If it wasn't for me then you'd still be infected by that creepy plague thing that Kyris the Hell gave you! Is that how you repay the guy who freed you from such a fate?"

"The only one who should shut up here is you. You're a lousy doctor regardless." King brushed some dust off of himself and lit up another cigarette. "So you beat that big guy, huh?"

"Oh yeah!" Jason pounded a fist against his chest. "I figured out that depending on my mood I'm more powerful when using different Grafts. That means now that I know the secret to it I'm even stronger than you!" He sneered cheerfully, which was a very strange sight. "Plus stuff like that fire Graft has abilities like how I burned that plague right out of your body."

"I find it hard to believe that you're stronger than me, regardless of whatever supernatural assistance you might have." King frowned as he noticed that Alita was still unconscious, propped up against the wall in a rather uncomfortable-looking position. "You really need to learn how to be gentler to a lady."

"And you need to learn to stop being such a babbling fool for a pair of nice legs," Jason popped his neck and sat down next to the unconscious Alita. "I guess we'd better escape from this place, huh?"

"That would be the best course of action." King took a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke behind him coldly. "The problem is that I'm not sure of the way out of here. I suppose I could just start blowing through the walls until we find an exit though."

"We could do that, but do you have the strength to go and do something like that?" Jason ducked a kick that blew a hole in the wall behind him. "I guess I'll take that as a yes?"

"You'd better, it definitely wasn't a no." Going into a series of leg warm-ups, King got ready to start his one-man demolition of the Bloody Prison. "You had better keep a close eye on that lady, because if anything happens to her then I'll break your face."

"I heard you the first time, ya walking bag of smoke." Jason stood up and threw Alita over his shoulder. "Now hurry up and get us out of here."

----------------------

Bull slowly stood up and sighed, spraying a small puff of black smoke from his mouth. "Wow, I actually passed out from that attack. That kid is definitely something special…" Crossing his legs together, he blew a glob of soot and mucus out of his nose. "I'm going to taste this for weeks too. What a drag."

"It's more of a drag," A cold voice said from behind him angrily, "That you went and lost our only way to get that key, didn't you Bull?"

The burly man scooted around to face the other end of the room, grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that Masquil. The kid that fought me for her was really strong, and he was definitely determined to win."

"Was he now?" A bare foot stepped forward slowly, and a pair of hands ran through a head of short oiled black hair. "I don't believe I was asking for excuses, Bull. I can't believe that you would lose to a kid, would you?"

"Well, maybe kid was the wrong word to use. He was pretty young though, and his power was way too amazing for me to do anything about. The guy was a Grafter, after all." Bull started laughing heartily, not bothered at all by the loss of their only way out of Shunsuna.

"He was a Grafter?" Ruerto's rough features twisted into a cold smile. "Interesting…so there's a Grafter here…" He turned to look back at his two compatriots. "You two are coming with me, we've got a girl to recover."

Raiza stretched his hand slowly, the metal cat claws attached to it clicking together loudly. "It sounds like fun, and a good way to make sure I haven't lost my touch." His wiry red hair bristled slightly.

Guzmo licked his lips together; his greasy green mane and snake-like eyes alone enough to prove that he looked like his name…a treacherous killer. "And there's a Grafter too, which I'm sure you'll want to have a little talk with."

"That is, without a doubt, the truth." Ruerto cracked his knuckles. "To think there are still guys like that alive…I have to find out his secret. How was he created?" Then he realized he was wasting time and looked down at Bull. "Go and wait for us at the meeting place, we'll be ready to go soon enough."

-----------------------------

Another wall exploded outwards and King strolled through the hole he had created casually, hands in his pockets as his mouth fiddled with his cigarette teasingly. "How many walls is that now?"

"I stopped counting after fifteen." Jason walked past him and dropped Alita to the ground. "Whew, this is…" He grunted as King slammed a heel down on his shoulder and pulled him to his back.

"What did I tell you about being gentle to the lady?" The fake Frenchman punted the black-haired young man across the room angrily. "She might have a concussion and you just keep jostling her like nothing is wrong at all."

Sitting up and rubbing his side gingerly, Jason glared at King. "If she's strong then she'll survive just fine!" He was silenced by another kick to the face.

"If she's strong?" King spat his lit cigarette onto Jason's forehead and watched his friend jump up screaming about how it was burning into his skull. "A lady is like a delicate flower. You can't expect her to be a rough and mindless brute like you, ignoring all pain because you've got a fight to go to."

Jason tuned the fake Frenchman's rant out, his eyes going out of focus momentarily before he held a hand up to indicate to King that quiet was needed. "Do you hear that? Someone's coming…"

Sure enough, the sound of footsteps could be heard around the corner of the hallway they were in.

"Hmph, more than likely just another group of criminals." King hopped up and down a couple of times, throwing a quick duo of kicks into the air to warm his legs up. "I'll take them down in a flash." Then he saw a shadow coming and kicked full force…

Flair snapped his katana up and blocked the incoming dress shoe masterfully, barely moving at all. "Oh, it's you two." Pushing King away he sheathed his katana and looked down at Jason and the unconscious Alita. "Is she alright, dog?"

"She's just fine, ass." The black-haired boy stood up and glared at the samurai. "Why do you still feel the need to call me dog?"

"If it whines like a dog, smells like a dog, and looks like a dog then it's a dog." Flair kneeled next to Alita and checked her pulse. "What happened to Alita?"

"Alita?" King suddenly had hearts in his eyes. "Ah, the gods have bestowed upon me the name of this angel. This girl that has stolen my heart…"

"You haven't even spoken with her!" Jason slammed his forehead into King's chin and floored the love-struck young man. "What a freaking idiot."

Flair struck Jason over the head with his sheathed katana. "That's enough of your stupid comedy routine; just tell me what happened to her."

"How the hell should I know?" Jason rolled his shoulders. "When I showed up she was with this really big smelly guy. He kind of reminded me of a bear, and he was hella strong. He took King's attacks like they were nothing."

"Who's King?" Flair nudged the guy at his feet, which still had hearts in his eyes. "This guy? He doesn't seem that strong." His eyes widened as he was forced back by a series of spinning kicks which barely missed his head.

"Not strong, huh?" King tugged on his collar and lit up another cigarette, apparently having finally gotten over his sudden bout of lovesickness. "I'm a ton stronger than you, you reject from a bad samurai movie."

Flair shrugged and kneeled down next to Alita, slapping her cheeks gently with his hand. "I'm sure that would be insulting if I knew what a movie was."

"Hey, be gentle with her!" King started to prep himself to kick the samurai in the head with the back of his foot, and then he realized that there was something hurtling towards them rapidly. "Scramble!"

"Huh?" Jason blinked as King and Flair, the latter holding Alita in his arms, leapt out of the way as a red-colored blur tore straight past them and into him.

"Jace!" King gritted his teeth as he watched his friend's body ride the red-colored blur all the wall into the far wall of the hallway.

Ruerto stepped into view from around the far corner at the end of the hallway, his hands curled into fists and an angry smile on his face. "I wonder if you actually thought you could get away with it. That girl is my ticket out of this hellhole, and there is no way that a trio of nobodies like you three are going to stop my ambitions!"

Raiza suddenly appeared alongside his fellow Crime Lord, sneering at the hole he had created in the wall. "I wonder if that other guy is still alive. I hit him pretty…"

"That hurt!" Jason exploded out of the remnants of the wall, rubbing the bump on top of his head gingerly. "Are you guys crazy or something? What kind of guy just breaks into the middle of a conversation and attacks people?"

"You, for one thing!" King tilted his head around to look at Ruerto. "So the big man was working for you, huh?"

"And if he was?" The ex-general smirked confidently.

Spitting his cigarette into a nearby torch to dispose of it, the fake Frenchman snapped his right foot up and aimed it at the much larger man. "Then I'll break you in half with my shoe…and then dance on your grave."

"That's a pretty big threat," Raiza clicked the nails of his cat claws together rhythmically. "Especially considering you won't even touch us. The difference in our skills is obvious. We're hardened criminals and murderers, men damned to this place because the people of this country don't even have the guts to try and kill us. What are you?"

"I'm the guy that will flatten you into the dirt if you try to touch my angel." King blinked as he felt a katana blade get pressed against his throat.

"When you said your angel, you'd better have been talking about the dog," Flair let the threat hang and turned his attention to Raiza. "If I'm correct you would be Raiza the Blade?"

"That's me." The murderer licked his tongue along the blades of his cat claws. "Do you have business with me, sir samurai?"

Sheathing his weapon and sliding into his quickdraw stance, Flair glanced over at King and Jason. "This particular one is mine. He is far too dangerous for either of you. Perhaps the dog should take the one slinking around at the moment?"

"I don't want that one though," Jason glanced behind him at the strange patch of blurry air that was moving on its own. "He smells weird."

"So you can sense my prescense…" Gozum shimmered into view. "Ruerto, this is the Grafter."

"Good then it's settled." Running his hands through his hair, the ex-general started approaching Jason slowly. "This one is mine."

("Did he say Ruerto?") Flair leapt in between the ex-general and Jason. "I changed my mind. I will take on this opponent and you can have the other one, dog."

Ruerto glowered at the samurai and kept approaching, despite the fact that Flair looked more than eager to draw his katana and cut him down. "I have no business with a piece of shit like you."

"Then let me give you a reason." Flair was suddenly moving, his sword slashing the man down the middle. Sheathing his blade, he turned away from the ex-general as the man fell in two halves to the ground. "That is the end of you…"

"It would be," One half of Ruerto said casually.

"If I was human anymore." The other half sneered and started to brown, changing to wood.

"What…what in the…" Flair stepped back, sweat dripping down the side of his face. "What kind of trickery is this?"

"What trickery?" The no-longer wood half said as it stood up fully restored to a full body, clothes and all. "This is merely the power of my Wild Fusion…"

"Oh!" Jason broke the mood by pounding his fist into his open hand, as if he had just remembered something. "That's what Wing said, those Wild Fusions…"

"It looks like you've been rejected, swordsman." Raiza snickered. "Come and play with me...you can't save the boy from his fate."

Flair sheathed his sword and walked over to the other killer, trying to stop himself from sweating more than he already was. "Dog, be careful…the man you face is someone to be afraid of…his power is at least twice my own."

"Really?" Jason put his hands on hips and grinned widely. "Awesome, it looks like I'm getting all of the good opponents!"

Gozum had been taking this opportunity to slowly inch towards Alita to grab her…

"Hey cur," King stomped on the man's slinking hand. "Don't touch the delicate flower with your filthy hands."

Rubbing his sore knuckles, the slimy man licked his lips. "You had best stop me then…"

-----------------------

The Warlord of Lions threw back his head and started laughing joyously. "This will be the ultimate match! The three remaining Crime Lords of my prison against three of the intruders, and all the while Kyris the Hell and two of the Guardians of Mudeia fight elsewhere! This will be one of the best runnings ever!"

_To be continued…_


	13. Spoken through the Cigarette

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything in it.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 13: Spoken through the Cigarette

Ruerto sneered and cracked his knuckles. "You ready, kid?"

"Heh, I was…" Jason disappeared as the ex-general kicked him straight through the next two walls behind him and followed after him.

Flair drew his katana slowly and lifted the blade up to aim at Raiza's chest. "Shall we take this elsewhere? There isn't enough room here for me to move."

"That's fine." His wiry red hair bristling, the killer leapt backwards and ran down the hallway, pursued by the samurai as the two disappeared from sight.

"It looks like," King put out his current cigarette. "That it's just you and me, slimy."

"That's just fine." Gozum's Carrier was already in place, though it lacked a Life Deck. "Shall we duel using your skill, or are you scared that you won't be able to beat me if you use your precious little kicks?"

"I didn't intend to beat you with my normal methods anyway." King summoned his Carrier and removed his Life Deck from it. "Even my feet have limits to them, and I need to give them a little bit of time to recover."

"Duel!" They both drew their opening hands at the same time.

King- 8000

Gozum- 8000

"Draw!" King added a card to his hand and flicked a different card into the air up above his head before using that same hand to flick a cigarette up to his mouth. The card he threw continued up into the air and then floated onto his field where it was replaced by a much larger version of itself. "I set one monster face-down and one card face-down too, end turn."

"Draw!" Gozum drew from his deck and snapped a card up. "I activate the magic card Graceful Charity, drawing three cards from my deck and discarding two." He licked his lips, as he had already won this duel. "Also I summon Snake Bite in attack mode." A humanoid snake appeared on his field, it's marking making it seem like its chest was an open fanged mouth. (1600/1800) "Attack his set monster now!"

King didn't flinch at all as his set monster was pounced and shattered. "When French Sports Car is destroyed as a result of battle I special summon two more of it from my deck to the field in defense mode." A pair of elegant sports cars appeared on his field. (500/500)x2

"Che, what kind of bizarre things are those?" Gozum threw two cards in front of him and they appeared face-down on the field. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Hold it," King lit up his cigarette and covered it with his hand as a powerful blast of dusty wind whipped across the field and shattered one of Gozum's set cards. "I activate Dust Tornado to destroy one of your set cards and then set a magic or trap card from my hand onto the field." A card appeared in place of his used trap.

Gozum narrowed his eyes but had nothing to say in response to that.

"Draw." King added the card to his hand and held up a different one. "Go Mystical Space Typhoon, blast that set card of his into dust!" A powerful wind started building as it got ready to destroy the card.

"Speaking of dust, I've got a response to that!" Gozum's set card flipped up to reveal Dust Tornado. "Let's deal with the card you set last turn!"

"Crap!" King threw up his hands to guard against the powerful blast of wind that shattered his set card, Choir of Pure Maidens. "I wanted to listen to that too!"

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your attempts to control this duel's tempo have proven useless!" Gozum hissed, his tongue sliding from his lips and moving out a bit farther than what should have probably been humanly possible.

"…that's a bit disturbing…" King pointed at one of his sports cars and it disappeared, replaced by the heavy engine of an elegant locomotive. "I sacrifice my car to summon French Bullet Train in attack mode!" (2200/1600) The train whistled loudly. "Attack Snake Bite now!" He gave Gozum a thumbs-down while his monster plowed through the snake creature. "Sorry, but I'm not so easily beaten!"

King- 8000

Gozum- 7400

"At this time the effect of French Bullet Train activates now." King pulled the top card off of his deck. "I look at the top card of my deck and if it is a monster card I discard it to the graveyard. During my next turn's main phase I can normal summon that card." He slid the card into his graveyard. "I set one card face-down and end my turn." A set card appeared behind his returned train.

Gozum drew from his deck, lips curling up into a sick smile. "Revive yourself, my Sleeper Serpent!" A giant snake appeared on his field, hissing at King and his monsters. (2400/1000)

"Where'd that come from?" King blinked at the creature and then rubbed his eyes to make sure he hadn't imagined its appearance.

"Last turn I discarded it with Graceful Charity." Gozum hissed in delight. "When this card is sent from my hand to the graveyard by the effect of a magic card during my next turn's main phase I can summon it from there without sacrifice, but during this turn I cannot make another summon." He pointed at the Bullet Train. "Get rid of that thing!"

King had to cover his cigarette again as his Bullet Train was slammed into and knocked over. "You're being a nuisance…"

King- 7800

Gozum- 7400

"End turn." Gozum snickered at the young man. "Come on buddy, you can't actually expect to beat me can you? I'm a Crime Lord of this place while you're just some weirdo."

"That's all it takes to bring you down." King drew and his remaining sports car disappeared. "I normal summon the French Repair Driver that was sent to the graveyard by Bullet Train's effect." An elegant tow truck-like vehicle appeared on his field in defense mode. (1600/1800)

"A weak defense like that won't hold against me." Gozum started to hiss in delight until he saw an old-fashioned elegant train appear on King's field. "And what's this?"

"My French Train." (1800/1800) King pointed at the Sleeper Serpent. "Attack." The huge engine roared across the field and exploded when it collided with the other monster. "When this card battles I can discard the top card of my deck into the graveyard. If that card is a monster then during my second standby phase from this time I can add it to my hand." He looked at the top card of his deck and then slid it into his graveyard slot. "End turn."

King- 7200

Gozum- 7400

Gozum drew and pointed at the French Repair Driver. "Get rid of that eyesore!" His Sleeper hissed and wrapped around the machine like a constrictor, squeezing until it exploded violently. "Then I summon Snake Egg in defense mode." A large egg appeared on his field. (0/2000) "While this card is face-up in play during the end phase of each of my turns I add a counter to it. End turn." A glowing counter appeared over the card.

"Draw." King drew and threw the card out in front of him. "I set one card face-down, end turn."

Gozum drew and threw the card in front of him, its shape changing into that of a humanoid snake holding a heavy spear. "I summon Snake Hunter in attack mode!" (1600/800) "Attack his life points directly!" Both of his monsters roared across the field, eager to sink their fangs into the other man's body.

"Reverse card open." King flicked his now spent cigarette away as a powerful vortex appeared between himself and the charging serpents, stopping them cold. "Negate Attack stops your attack and ends the battle phase."

"So you've bought yourself another turn huh?" Gozum lifted his shoulders up a little bit. "That's not really so bad, considering that you can't do anything against me. I've got three monsters in play and with their power I can easily overwhelm you next turn. I place one card face-down and at the end phase of my turn Snake Egg gains another counter." A new glowing counter appeared over the monster card. "End turn."

"Let me show you what the beauty of France is compared to your slimy reptiles." King drew and a card slid out of his graveyard slot. "I add the monster discarded by the effect of French Train to my hand." Looking at the drawn card he smirked. "I also activate Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck." Snapping two cards off of his deck swiftly, he motioned to his set card. "I reveal Call of the Haunted, reviving French Bullet Train!" The sleek new age engine reappeared on his field. (2200/1600)

"So you've revived your weird metal thing, so what?" Gozum's tongue slithered out of his mouth slowly.

"I'll show you right now," King sounded overjoyed. "I'll show you the French Revolution! French Bullet Train, attack Snake Hunter!" The engine roared across the field and slammed into the humanoid reptile, destroying it.

King- 7200

Gozum- 6800

"At this time the effect of French Bullet Train lets me discard the top card of my deck if it is a monster!" Removing the top card of his deck, he grinned and slid it into his graveyard slot. "That'll be coming out during the next turn."

"Maybe," Gozum didn't look very impressed. "What good does all that do if you during my next turn I run down your little train thing again?"

"You won't be!" King grabbed a card from his hand and snapped it up. "I activate the quickplay magic card Quick Summon, letting me normal summon a monster from my hand to the field!" His French Bullet Train disappeared, replaced by a large multi-tired vehicle that looked like it was meant to run over monster trucks. (2300/1800) "I summon French Super Driver, which when tribute summoned lets me equip it with the monster sacrificed to summon it if that tribute was a machine! It gains half of that card's original attack and defense!" (3400/2600) "Super Driver, attack Sleeper Serpent now! Show him the great beauty that is the French!"

Gozum grunted as the powerful multi-wheeler tore down the hallway and ran over the Sleeper Serpent, crushing it and sending a powerful shockwave his way.

King- 7200

Gozum- 5800

"I place two cards face-down and end my turn." King grinned widely, pleased to see his French machines functioning so well.

"Draw!" Gozum added the drawn card to his hand angrily. "I won't let this insult pass! I activate the magic card Heavy Storm! All magic and trap cards in play will be destroyed!"

"Reverse card open!" One of King's set cards flipped up and his life points suddenly shot up. "I activate the trap card French Fuel. By sacrificing one French card on my field, I can gain life points by either its attack strength if it's a monster, or by 1500 if it's a magic or trap card! My choice is the equipped French Bullet Train!" Then his cards were destroyed, leaving his Super Driver weakened. (2300/1800)

King- 9400

Gozum- 5800

Gozum was about to continue but his eyes widened as he realized there was a new monster on King's field. "Where did that thing come from?"

"This?" King motioned to the elegant-looking Buggy on his field. "This is my French Buggy. The other set card you destroyed was my French Parade, which when destroyed while face-down lets me draw the top card of my deck. If it is a machine type monster with French in its title then I can special summon it!" (300/1200)

"I can't stand it!" Gozum pounded his bare feet against the ground, nearly literal steam coming off of his head. "How does it seem to be that no matter what you do in this duel it goes your way?"

"That is the elegance of the French." King brushed a lock of his hair back.

"I've had enough of your annoying methods!" Gozum pointed at his Snake Egg, which exploded and a pair of snakes appeared on his field. "By sending Snake Egg to my graveyard I can special summon one level four or lower reptile from my hand to the field per counter! I special summon the two Golden Snakes I'm holding!" (300/800)x2

"A pair of golden serpents doesn't frighten me." King lit up another cigarette. "Care to try sacrificing them?"

"Of course!" Gozum hissed as his two monsters disappeared and a giant bulbous-bodied purple reptile appeared on his field. (2800/1800) "This monster is called Poison Obliterator! When he deals you life point damage you take an additional 1000 points of damage, as well as the fact that he deals damage through defense!"

King bit his cigarette a little tighter with his teeth. "Yeah, that's not bad…"

"When a Gold Snake goes to the graveyard from the field I draw one card!" Gozum drew two cards and held one of them up. "I activate the equipment magic card Snatch Steal, letting me equip it to your Super Driver and take control of it!" The powerful multi-wheeler drove over to his field. "Now I'll switch this bizarre thing into defense mode!"

"Defense mode?" King blinked in surprise at this. "Hey, what's the deal with that? You aren't going to attack me with it?"

"No," Gozum sneered. "I am called the Traitor for a reason. When I was on the outside I could talk people into the most ludicrous deals ever, many of them betraying those they loved just to make sure that their life wasn't ended by my 'army of assassins', or that their kids didn't 'accidentally' get poisoned in their sleep. It was a good life, until I was caught…"

"From what it sounds like you were caught for the better good of the people as a whole." King frowned at the slimy creature that dared to call itself a human. "And you think that I'll give Mon Alita chéri to you? You're out of your mind."

"Like a weakling such as yourself could protect her, even if you wanted to!" Gozum held up the other card in his hand. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon on my own Snatch Steal!" The blast of wind shot from his card into the equipment card, the defense mode Super Driver returning to King's field.

"You're giving it back to me?" King nearly dropped his cigarette out of his mouth because of his surprise, until he realized that something was wrong with the Poison Obliterator. (5600/1800) "What the hell?"

"When I have no cards in my hand or on my field other than my Poison Obliterator its original attack is doubled and it gains an additional effect." Gozum's tongue slid out and licked along his lips slowly. "When my Obliterator destroys a monster as a result of battle you take that monster's attack in damage to your life points!"

"What?" King's cigarette dropped out of his mouth along with the falling of his jaw as the Poison Obliterator filled up with air.

"What kind of man can't even protect something as simple as a girl," Gozum pointed at King. "Oh wait, that kind right there! Poison Obliterator, destroy that pitiful monster of his right now!" The monster belched a spear of poison out that pierced right through the Super Driver and hurtled towards King rapidly. Then it connected and the entire hallway was swallowed up in a powerful cloud of poisonous purple gas.

King- 2300

Gozum- 5800

Gozum leaned in close, waiting for the cloud to lift away. "This poison is some of the strongest in all of Temarocia…that much of it will leave you a dead man!"

The cloud started to fade away slowly. "Here's a little quiz for you," The voice was King's. "What happens if your entire family smokes heavily, you included? You've got two choices. A) You get a family of cancer-ridden, black-lunged, horribly withered people…or B) you get a group of people so ungodly healthy that they are nearly immune to disease, physical ailments, and are literal superhumans."

"What the…" Gozum wasn't sure how to react, until the cloud cleared to reveal King absolutely unharmed. "That's impossible; nothing alive can survive breathing that poison!"

King leaned down and picked up his fallen cigarette. "Then I guess I'm undead, it would explain how I can smoke over ten packs of these things a day and have lungs so clean you could transplant them and that person would live for a century."

He flicked the now bent thing over his shoulder before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "The Lawless family is a family of martial artists, famous athletes, a freaking brain surgeon, and that one guy that made up the satellite network that all Duel Disks run off of. In other words, we're a group of gods among men. That's why your poison might as well have been air freshener for all I'd care."

"Why should I…" Gozum started…

"I'm not done yet!" King kicked a piece of stone near him at the slimy human and it whizzed past Gozum with enough speed behind it that it might as well have been a bullet. "Of course that results in parents that treat us like little children, and hate it when we do anything that might endanger the lives of the world's next potential rocket scientist, great inventor, politician, etc..."

"That's why I invented my own style of fighting." King slowly rotated his right leg in a full circle, not even needing to adjust his hips to keep his balance as he finished the track. "The old hag never checks my legs when I come home, but she always checks my hands. So I just have to keep my hands clean."

"Why are you telling me this?"

King smiled slightly and lit up another cigarette. "I'm just putting a little bit of perspective into place for you, and I guess I'm reminding myself why I'm part of the Freaks Gang…the best five-man gang in all of New York."

He drew from his deck. "At this time the monster sent to my graveyard special summons itself. Come out now French Jet Fighter!" An elegant jet fighter appeared on his field. (1200/1800)

"That creature can't beat my Poison Obliterator…" Gozum's eyes widened as the French Buggy suddenly rushed across the field toward his monster. "Are you crazy, you'll destroy yourself?"

"You wish I was feeling that merciful." King took a deep drag of his cigarette. "I'm going to make you eat your words. When French Buggy attacks an opponent's monster it cannot be destroyed in battle and all battle damage to me is zero. Also, the effect of French Jet Fighter lets me activate traps from my hand."

He flipped the card he had drawn over to reveal a trap. "I activate Overdrive Engine, which activates when a machine type monster on my field attacks a monster on your field. I draw two cards." Two cards left his deck while the French Buggy bounced harmlessly off the body of the Poison Obliterator.

"Two cards can't possibly make the difference here!" Gozum started laughing. "You're fooling yourself if you think that you can win off those two cards!"

King sighed and finished off his cigarette, flicking it into the nearest iron torch to dispose of it. "I activate the quickplay magic card Emergency Casting, letting me activate a normal magic card from my hand."

He held up his other card and his two machine monsters disappeared. "My other card is Overload Fusion, which lets me remove any number of fusion material monsters from my field and graveyard to special summon a dark attribute machine type fusion monster from my fusion deck!"

A card slid out of his graveyard and he held it up. "French Parade activates now. When this card is in my graveyard and a machine type fusion monster would be special summoned to my field then that fusion summon is negated and French Eiffel Titan is special summoned instead!"

There was a giant explosion of light as a huge and elegant robot built to resemble the Eiffel Tower came into play. (?) "When this guy is summoned I can remove any number fusion materials to raise its original attack and defense by 800. I remove nine monsters total." (7200/7200)

"7200?" Gozum gaped at the monster…

"It's not over yet." King placed a hand on top of his deck. "If the number of removed monsters is five or more I draw the top card of my deck. If it is a magic card I may activate it immediately."

He drew and held up the card. "Limiter Removal doubles the attack of all machines on my field by double." (14400/7200) "French Eiffel Titan attacks your piece of trash!"

Gozum screamed as the giant robot full force drop-kicked his monster and popped it like a balloon, the impact hurling him across the hallway and into the wall.

King- 2300

Gozum- 0

"Now what is it that I can't do?" King was suddenly standing next to the slowly falling Gozum, his leg aimed at the sky. "_Charger à la tête!"_ His leg dropped and the entire hallway vanished in a powerful spray of dust.

_To be continued…_


	14. The Legendary Power of a Graftborn

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 14: The Legendary Power of a Graftborn

Flair- 8000/6000 (2200/1000)

Raiza- 8000/14000 (1000/600)

"Flash Cut!" Flair disappeared, feet leaving the ground as he moved with amazing speed towards Raiza.

"I activate Dodge!" Red hair bristling, Raiza shot backwards like a spring and evaded the high speed slash that would have parted him like a hair had it connected.

Flair- 8000/5600

Raiza- 8000/13800

Sheathing his katana, Flair frowned slightly. ("This opponent is a high-speed fighter, like myself. I wonder if he can pose a threat to me though…")

Raiza tapped the top of his Life Deck. "I pay 1000 magic points to activate Stealth Speed!" Then he disappeared, the only thing that even indicated he was in the large hallway being a number of afterimages of his movements that bounded everywhere.

Flair narrowed his eyes and twisted on one heel right before he felt a trio of metallic cat claws slash three shallow lines of blood into his neck, barely missing his vital arteries. "A Vital Cut attack?"

Flair- 6000/5600

Raiza- 8000/12200

Raiza shimmered back into view, the rising cloud of dust around his feet saying that he had actually been moving too fast for Flair's eyes to keep up, and had not been using an illusion. "You're quick to catch on, swordsman. Yes, thanks to my Stealth Speed ability I can move so fast that using assassination-based attacks like Vital Cut are possible even if the opponent knows that I am nearby. And because my ability lets me double the damage my opponent takes if my attack is direct, my fighting style is perfect for Adventurer Duels, where an unblocked attack is direct."

"I see." Flair tightened the strings of his robe and sheathed his katana, slipping into his quickdraw stance. "Then I'll just have to make good use of your momentum when you do that and cut you in half. At that kind of speed you most certainly can't stop yourself from running into my sword."

"You'd be right," Raiza disappeared and appeared directly behind the samurai, his cat claws resting against Flair's neck carefully. "Except that I've been in this hellish place for fifteen years. I know the grooves of these walls like the back of my hand, and therefore I can easily navigate them even when going at full speed. Give it up, swordsman. While we're in here I'm invincible."

"Are you always this full of yourself?" Flair slammed his elbow into Raiza, getting only a moment's resistance before he felt the killer disappear again. "Draw." Tapping the top of his Life Deck he was suddenly lit up by a powerful aura of purple energy. "Release of Power!"

Flair- 6000/14600

Raiza- 8000/12200

(2800/1000) After tapping his deck three more times Flair grabbed his katana's hilt and steeled his gaze, trying to find traces of the opponent. "I activate Heat of Battle. For the next five of my turns all of my magic point costs are negated, but during the fifth of my turns from this time I lose half of my original magic point total."

With that done he drew his katana and snapped it up above his head, the edge glowing a purple-black color. "Chorus of One Thousand Shadow Swords!" A spray of purple-black crescents exploded from the blade, tearing huge gashes all across the hallway. After a few moments there was a scream of pain and Raiza collapsed to the ground from somewhere on the ceiling, a bloody line along his chest.

Flair- 6000/14600

Raiza- 5200/12200

"From what I can tell," Flair pointed his sword at the unmoving killer. "When you're using your Stealth Speed you can't defend against attacks. That means all I have to do is get a couple of good strikes in on you and this battle is over."

"Believe that you want, fool." Raiza leapt to his feet and tapped the top of his Life Deck before his arms dropped limp to his side. "And now I have no choice but to kill you with my ultra-high speed attack…Flash Genocide."

"Flash Genocide huh?" Flair scoffed as the killer disappeared so quickly that even the air around where he had been didn't seem to realize he was gone. "That's a high-speed blind attack where you slash apart everything in sight in the attempt to kill your target along with everyone else in the way."

He sighed quietly and sheathed his sword. "Therefore I'm sure of it now. I had my doubts at first, but in the end you proved me right." Flair suddenly turned and slashed the air behind him quickly, his sword only out of its sheath for a second. "You're an idiot."

A crash rang out behind him as the slashed Raiza ran headfirst into the wall of the hallway. (+1000 damage)

Flair- 6000/14600

Raiza- 1400/10200

"How…" Raiza gasped out, his body contorting in pain as he tried to stand up.

"I know all about the Flash type physical attacks." Flair slowly walked towards the fallen killer. "Flash Genocide is a mass-target killing attack, but you used it for one opponent in an enclosed space?" His face contorted in anger. "It doesn't matter if you know how to navigate the hallways of this prison at high speeds if you've got no idea how to fight, you waste of training! It angers me just looking at you!"

"It's too bad then," Raiza suddenly leapt to his feet and launched towards Flair, his body twisting rapidly as it turned into a spinning blur of color capable of blending anything its metal tip touched.

"Are you doing this on purpose just to make me angry?" The samurai side-stepped the spiral and stabbed his sheathed sword into it, sending it crashing into the wall alongside them both. Reaching down he picked up the piece of long sharp metal on the ground. "Oh look, your claws broke." (+1000 damage)

Flair- 6000/14600

Raiza- 400/10200

Raiza coughed painfully, spitting out a tooth. "How…how did you see past…"

"Have you ever seen a fan in movement?" Flair frowned and walked past the fallen killer, heading back towards where he had left the dog's friend and the dog. "All it takes is one little push and the whole thing loses control. Remember that and maybe the next time you fight you won't make yourself look like a complete amateur…just a partial one."

He turned on one heel and slashed a deep cut in Raiza's chest, stopping the killer's attempt to stab him in the back with a knife easily. "And don't sneak up on me after I've already beaten you, even for a lousy killer it's undignified."

Flair- 6000/14600

Raiza- 0/10200

----------------------------

A loud crash shook the inside of the prison as a person was blown straight through the wall and into a large circular arena-like area.

"Oh," Ruerto stepped through the hole he had created with Jason's body. "So we wound up in the arena? Good, this is the perfect place for me to kill you!"

"We'll see about that!" The young man emerged from the billowing clouds of dust his impact had created with a sneer on his fanged face, the green-gray of his head-fur mixing well with the bleak colors of the prison. "I'm not dead yet, creepy guy!"

"What an annoying kid," Ruerto started laughing as the Stonequill-fused Jason charged at him, running him through with his shoulder spines. "I thought after you saw what happened with the samurai that you would figure out getting close to me is a bad idea!" His arms swept in to try and pin the Grafter against his chest.

"You won't catch me off guard that easily!" Jason kicked the man in the stomach and slid back a few feet. "This is my Defense Graft anyway. What good will impaling yourself on me do?"

"From the way you said that…" The holes in Ruerto's body shuddered, the pierced flesh around them changing to wood and closing easily. "…you've got multiple Grafts. That's a pretty unique ability, boy."

Jason groaned, swallowed up in a blast of dirt that cleared to reveal him back to normal . "You're like those other guys? You're going to call me boy for the entire fight, aren't you?"

"Perhaps," The ex-general's Carrier appeared on his wrist. "Let's see how well you do against me. The Adventurer Duel begins here!" Tapping the top of his deck five times, Ruerto licked his lips and motioned to the lit sconces around them, the shadows flickering up into the empty stands. "Our audience is here, Grafter! They are the spirits of the dead, of those that I killed with the powers that we both possess…"

He smiled darkly to reveal two rows of sharp wooden fangs. "This is the power of my Wild Fusion! With it, I am invincible!"

"Invincible?" Jason willed his Carrier into existence and touched the top of it five times. "That's sad really; that you can believe something like that makes you invincible…it shows that you're really weak."

"Oh, what about that makes me weak?" Ruerto pounded a fist into his open hand strongly, the impact creating a weak blast of air. "Tell me, I'm all ears."

"It's the fact that you're relying on that ability to do your fighting for you," Jason cracked his knuckles. "Oh well though, if that's the way you want to fight me then I won't complain. I'll just show you the error of your ways by kicking your ass."

"That's an impressive resolve you've got." Up in the stands the shadows started to flicker more violently. "The audience is growing impatient! Let us begin, Grafter!"

Ruerto- 8000/33000 (1700/1200)

Jason- 8000/5000 (?)

"Let me start us off!" The ex-general tapped the top of his deck. "I activate the spell card Grand Battle. This effect will remain in place for the rest of the game. All magic point costs are negated. For every technique card played by an Adventurer they may attack an additional time plus their normal attack per turn. All life point damage is halved, the other half going to your magic points instead. For the last part, both players now draw until they are holding six cards during each of their draw phases. That way, we can both fight at full force without having to hold back."

"That sounds fine." Jason yawned out of boredom. "Step up the pace a little bit, I'm already getting tired of listening to you flap your gums."

"Sure, let me just activate a pair of Contingencies and I'll end my turn." Ruerto snickered slightly at the confused look on Jason's face. "So you don't know what a Contingency is? Think of it like a technique that you set as a trap card. It will trigger when certain conditions are met."

"Oh really?" Jason tapped the top of his deck. "That's good to know, thanks for filling me in. Now then, I'll end this battle in one shot!" He disappeared within a pillar of fire and when it cleared his hair had become flaming red, the same with his eyes. A series of molten tattoos were along his arms as well. (1700/300)

"Oh, the fire Graft you used to beat Bull?" Ruerto smiled coldly. "You intend to make good use of the firewood in front of you, huh?"

"Something like that," Jason's tattoos started glowing brighter. "**Inferno Spray**! Eat this!" (2100/300) Taking in a deep breath of air, he exhaled a plume of fire that swallowed up the ex-general. "Hah, this must be the weakness that Wing was talking about! If you're made of wood then it might be easy to regenerate from slashing and piercing attacks but one good hit from a fire-based opponent and you're finished!"

"Is that so?" The flames died down to reveal Ruerto unharmed. "Unfortunately you're barking up the wrong tree, so to speak."

Ruerto- 8000/33000 (1700/1200)

Jason- 8000/5000 (2100/300)

"Huh?" Jason blinked at his opponent in confusion. "You guarded against it? That's fine, I guess I'll just have to try again!" He charged towards Ruerto while at the same time mentally activating the second Inferno Spray in his mind along with the Surprise Attack spell card he was holding too. ("I'll catch you off guard and give you a direct fire damage attack to your face!") (2500/300)

Ruerto sneered as the young Grafter got about ten feet away from his. "You went and did it, so don't complain to me…that you triggered my contingency by getting too close to me."

Jason yelped in pain as painful brambles exploded out of the ground and entrapped his legs, a huge circular patch of the dry thorny plant material emerging from everywhere in a twenty-foot radius of the ex-general's body. "Ow! What is this stuff?" He grimaced and sucked in a deep breath, exhaling his charged up Inferno Spray to the ground around him.

"It's no use," Ruerto slowly approached the now immobile Jason, walking through both the fire and brambles with no problem at all. "**Bramble Trap.** An ability granted by my Wild Fusion. These little patches of briar will hold you in place and deal you 300 points of damage during each of your standby phases."

Grinding his teeth together, Jason quickly figured out what the problem was with his method of attacking. "You're immune to fire, huh?"

"My Wild Fusion is a creature called a Wasteland Troll, a regenerating wood monster that is completely immune to fire damage which is normally the main method to dealing with Trolls. It's rather disappointing, isn't it? What you thought was your best chance actually has a zero percent chance of winning against me."

"Heh, if you think I'm giving up that quickly then you apparently don't know me." Jason sneered confidently, despite the pain the brambles were causing him as they cut tighter and tighter into his ankles.

"Pitiful…your bluff, I mean." Ruerto tapped the top of his deck three cards and then he lifted his right arm up. "**Branch Spear.**" His right arm changed to wood and warped into a piercing spear-like shape. "This card increases my attack power and lets me attack through defense." (2100/1200)

His foot slammed down and cracked a section of briar beneath him as he wound up to run the immobile Jason through. "I'll pierce your heart!"

"Since fire won't work…" Jason disappeared within a torrent of dirt, and when the spear connected it found that it hadn't found flesh, but had instead hit a bone spike. "**Graft Metamorphosis.**" (1500/3000)

Ruerto snorted in disgust. "Back to defense, huh?" His skin shuddered and turned brown, suddenly resembling wood. "That's fine; the power of my other Contingency is the power of my Wood Armor Item card. It becomes a 1000 damage point barrier for me, meaning the backlash damage I would have taken is negated."

Jason narrowed his eyes in frustration, the Stonequill attributes of his body tensing as they were pushed to the limit just holding the Graftborn back. ("This guy is really good…") His lips suddenly quirked into a slight smile. ("Good, a fight isn't truly exciting if you aren't pushed to your limit during it.")

"What are you smiling about?" Ruerto's spear-arm suddenly exploded, spraying Jason with painful splinters that pierced his skin. "Do you think this is fun?" He chuckled at the suddenly surprised look that crossed Jason's face as his body seized up. "The fun has just begun."

"I…can't move…" Jason felt numb all over, as if something had stolen his body from him. (1000/3000/Switch to attack mode)

"That would be my **Splinter Strike.**" Though he was now missing an arm, Ruerto was still smiling confidently. "I sacrifice an item that my body created to equip it to my opponent, switching them into attack mode and also changing the attack and defense increases of the item to decreases."

"That's a dirty trick," Jason managed to mutter out weakly.

"You're not one to talk." The ex-general aimed his stump at the young man's chest. "**Branch Hammer!**" A new wooden arm, the hand of it balled into a fist, exploded from where the original arm had been and slammed right into Jason's exposed body, forcefully tearing his legs free from the briars minus some skin and some blood. (+1500 attack points, technique card) (3200/1200)

Ruerto- 8000/33000 (3200/1200)

Jason- 6900/3900 (1000/3000)

Because of his head was positioned Jason could see that he was heading straight towards a wall. ("I need to be able to move, but how…") His eyes widened in realization. ("That's it!") Then he collided with the wall explosively.

"If this is the best you've got then I don't see what made the Grafters so legendary." Ruerto's new arm shifted back to flesh and he cracked its knuckles a couple of times. "Come on now, you can't tell me that you, who has multiple Grafts, can't beat one single Graftborn in a fight. Regardless of my power compared to yours, the abilities that a Wild Fusion grant surpass such trivial things. Therefore a Grafter should be similar, or else what's the point of devoting yourself to those foolish creatures you've bonded with?"

A cold chill ran down his spine and something landed on his head. Reaching up his brushed a bit of melted ice through his hair. "What's this?"

"**Graft Metamorphosis!**" The explosion created by Jason's collision with the wall cleared to reveal a flowing white mist. "**Ice Wall.**" The mist faded just enough to reveal the beautiful sparkling wall of rough ice that had appeared between the wall of the arena floor and Jason, who was now dressed in a white and blue bodysuit with ice-colored eyes and hair. "If I freeze your little wood splinters while they are in my body they can't hurt me, now can they?" (1600/900)

"An ice Graft this time?" Ruerto started laughing. "Just how many of these grafts do you have, boy?"

"Again with the boy, huh?" Jason muttered this coldly to himself before he tapped the top of his deck six times and lifted his hand to aim at the ex-general. "Let me remind you why you shouldn't call me boy, kid, or anything else like that."

Ruerto sneered darkly. "You're not in any position to demand a single thing from me yet, boy."

---------------------------

Flair walked back into the hallway that the entire skirmish has started from, not expecting to find King casually sitting on a fallen piece of debris smoking a cigarette. "Where's Alita?"

"The dear angel Alita is right there." King motioned behind him to where Alita had been propped carefully against the wall of a small section of the hallway that had been cleared of debris.

"And where's the opponent you were fighting?" Flair just then noticed a hand sticking out a pile of rocks at the other end of the hallway. "Never mind…it seems you didn't hold back."

"Why should I?" The fake Frenchman stood up and ground his shoe against the empty package of cigarettes he had finished off while waiting for the samurai's return. "That guy was scum. Anyway," He walked over and lifted Alita up in his arms. "Shall we go see if Jace has lost yet or not?"

"I actually intended to go whether you came or not." Flair walked in the direction of the hole that been created by Jason's body when Ruerto had punched him through it.

----------------------------

They both entered the hole into the arena and immediately started shivering. There was ice everywhere. It was on the ceilings in the form of hanging icicles, on the ground in form of frost, and on the walls in the form of clumps of ice spikes.

"It seems that he was busy," King stepped forward and heard something crunch at his feet. Looking down he blinked in surprise at the sight of frozen brambles underneath him, covering the dirt floor as far as he could see into the mild mist that lingered around them both. "What happened in here?"

"This is a battle that only a pair of Graftborn could wage," Flair heard something rustling nearby and his hand was immediately on the hilt of his katana. "I sense a powerful prescense. Apparently the battle hasn't ended yet."

"Are you serious?" King looked around in disbelieve. "They've made a huge mess of the place already, how could they possibly not be done yet?"

"You don't understand the destructive power of the Graftborn, apparently." The samurai glanced around nervously, that feeling of being watched too strong to ignore. "Those who have absorbed the power of a monster become things too dangerous to describe. They possess powers that no class could ever grant, and that no amount of research could ever fully understand."

"Is that so?" King's ears perked as he heard a pained coughing nearby, though somewhere off in the mist. "Hey, there's somebody over there…" He gasped in fear as a bloody and torn normal Jason stumbled into view, collapsing at their feet. "You idiot, you lost?"

"Screw you, I haven't lost yet." The black-haired young man coughed loudly and rolled onto his back, having a bit of trouble drawing breath. "It's just…well…"

"You're out of magic," Flair quickly surmised this. "Considering your low amount of magical power you just don't have enough to go into an extended fight with an opponent."

Ruerto- 8000/33000 (1700/1200)

Jason- 3000/0

"You shut up, ass." Jason broke into a fit of coughing, rolling onto his side as he found himself unable to breathe properly. "I just got caught up in the moment, that's all."

"He got more than caught up in the moment." The mist parted to reveal Ruerto, his body covered from the neck down in wooden armor. "That boy fought well for that last turn or so, though by the end of it he was no longer able to fight. With such a low amount of magical power I'm surprised that he even expected to harm me, which he didn't manage to at all."

"Hmph," King lit up another cigarette and placed Alita down next to Jason, dropping something in his friend's lap before going into a series of leg warm-ups. "It looks like as the top fighter in the Freaks Gang I'll have to be the one to take you down."

"A race then?" Flair grasped the handle of his katana. "The first to take him down wins?"

"Sure, I'm up for a little bit of competition if you are." King smiled coolly, knowing full and well that this was more than likely suicide. "Hey Jace, you beat me fair and square. I hope you enjoy listening to that message as much as I did…"

"You're both a pair of fools if you think you can take me down just because there are two of you!" Ruerto roared at the top of his lungs, the sound strangely beast-like. "Prepare yourselves to feel the power of my Wild Fusion!"

"I look forward to it," Both Flair and King said at the same time.

-----------------------------

Jason looked at the cute little cell phone with cat stickers all over it numbly, before he turned it on. Even though the battery power was low, he didn't intend to waste too much time on it. His hands clicked through the voice messages until he got the most recent one. ("Sai…") Then he clicked the send button, bringing the device up to his ear.

_To be continued…_


	15. Impact Cannon

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

"_Hello, is this 911? My friend is injured and there are these really scary guys in black suits and one of them smells really bad and he was threatening me and my friend who is also a ninja but he's self-trained jumped in and said something weird about threatening me and then they dueled and my friend got injured and…" A loud explosion came from somewhere nearby. "Ah, what's happening now? Is it an evil cyclone of terror coming to kill us all?"_

"_How would it be evil or of terror just because it's a cyclone?" Someone yelled in the background, the reception on the phone breaking up._

"_It's because it was sent by the mean men to hurt us of course, Ricky!"_

"_Why would they go to that much trouble when we're already right here…and don't call me Ricky! I am the mighty Rick Richardson, the greatest self-trained ninja of them all! Remember it well, Saika!"_

"_King says the only reason you're the best self-trained ninja of all though is because there aren't any others. He says that's like saying he's the best cigarette smoker in the world, it doesn't mean anything."_

"_What would that perverted fishbowl-head know about the greatness of my ninjutsu anyway?" The voice got a lot louder all of a sudden. "She's lying, I'm absolutely URK!" Something fell nearby the phone._

"_AHHH! He's bleeding all over the place! Where's the first-aid kit again?" The voices went silent over the line and the only sound that could be heard was the noise of something tearing up concrete. "…Ricky? Hey Ricky? Are you okay?"_

_More silence...and then the sound of someone sniffling. "Jason, I'm scared…" The phone beeped, saying the message was complete._

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 15: Impact Cannon 

"Flash Cut!" Flair slashed Ruerto in half, sheathing his katana and leaping back before any of the splinters that came from either of the parted pieces could touch him. ("We do not know the full extent of this man's abilities, so we cannot be careless.")

"You want to take my angelic Alita, huh?" King launched in and slammed his foot down on one of the two halves of Ruerto's body, breaking it into even smaller pieces with the impact. "You won't get even close to her again!"

"You're both wasting your time!" The ex-general's numerous pieces pulled together and reformed, his fists clenched tight and his smile wide. "Don't you understand yet? My Wild Fusion makes me immune to such simple methods of attack. However, since it seems you don't get it…**Branch Hammer!**" His right and left fists exploded from their attached arms, turning to wood and slamming into the ribs of his two opponents.

King crashed onto his back and quickly came up into a standing position, trying to keep weight off of the section of ribs the fist had hit. ("I can't even feel the area he struck…how much power this guy has in those fists of his?") He flipped forwards, landing on his hands and going into a spin that slammed one of his feet against the Graftborn's face roughly.

"A wasted effort, your pitiful attacks don't hurt me!" Ruerto's stumps instantly grew new hands that punched King in the chest and sent him flying across the room. There was a momentary flash of light as a sword came out of the fading mist and cut his arm off. "You're just as annoying, long-haired loser!" His left leg changed into a pointed spear of wood that he stabbed into the mist, sneering at the grunt of pain he elicited from it. "I got you both. Now hurry up and die, I have my freedom to look forward to!"

"Even if you beat them both," The mist parted slowly to reveal Jason, something clenched tightly in his fist. "That won't change the fact that I'm your opponent."

"So you're back?" Ruerto snorted and his body shifted back into its wood-armored shape, his left arm forming into a shield of wood and his right arm changing into a wooden spear. "I was wondering if you were going to return to the fight or not. Then again this won't last too much longer. You don't have the power to win this battle…especially since you're all out of magic."

Jason was silent, his eye glancing down at the cell phone clenched tight in his grasp.

"What's that? From the look in your eyes it seems rather important…" The ex-general narrowed his eyes and smiled darkly. "Excuse my intrusion…"

Jason screamed as one of Ruerto's disembodied hands shot up from inside the mist at his feet and pierced his stomach with its fingers, another hand leaping out to grab the cell phone as it dropped from his hand and return to its master with the device in tow.

"And what is this, I wonder?" Hands returning to normal, Ruerto reached and grabbed the phone from his disembodied extra limb before it withered and turned to dust along with the one that had gutted Jason. "What a strange little thing…" He shook it a couple of times rather roughly. "Is it magic, maybe?"

"Give it back." Jason didn't even make an attempt to cover his wound, which was bleeding rather profusely and staining his tunic. His eyes simply reflected an intense emotion, though because of the mist it was difficult to discern exactly what that emotion was. "That's your only warning."

"You're still rather impetuous, aren't you?" The ex-general's hand closed around the device and when he opened his fingers little pieces of circuitry and plastic rained out. "Ooops, I broke it."

Jason looked up at the ceiling. "You know, I was wondering whether I was going to find someone in this world that I truly wanted to beat down. Up until this point I've been fighting people that I have nothing against at all."

Ruerto's limbs reformed into their spear and shield shapes. "What's this now? Are you saying that you hate me and that you want to beat me down from the bottom of your core?"

"The first part is false, as is half of the second part. I wanted to kick your ass, but that really doesn't mean anything at all. If it's in my way I just kick its ass, you're no exception to the rule." Jason smiled. "In fact, you're of no consequence."

The ex-general snickered coldly. "You're a real piece of work, kid. Even though you are about be killed by me you've got the guts to still say that. I'll make you feel levels of pain that nothing alive has ever felt before."

"About to be killed by you?" Jason cracked his knuckles, the blood from his stomach wound starting to stain his pants too. "No. I can't die by your hands. If it isn't obvious yet, pain means nothing to me beyond perhaps the shock value. I have already experienced the most torturous of pains out of them all. Besides, I don't think you can match up to the situation that made me experience that pain at first."

"And just what kind of pain could you have possibly experienced that would make you a match for me?" Ruerto started to approach Jason slowly, each of his steps shaking the earth. "Well, would you like to tell me? What kind of pain would allow you to beat me without having any more magic to rely upon? Without your Grafts, what are you but a weak little human with no skills of your own?"

"You're right." Jason sneered confidently. "In Temarocia magic means almost everything. Without it you aren't even a man. However that's why I intend to fight you to the bitter end with every fiber of my being, because somewhere in this world there is a certain someone I have to go rescue. She's a klutz and because of her I always wind up getting badly injured, but she's also a member of my gang and therefore her problems are my own."

"I don't care where you have to be." Ruerto charged towards the black-haired young man rapidly, his spear-arm rising to pierce Jason's chest. "I will kill you and then I will be free of this place! I'll trade in that girl for my freedom!"

"You're not doing any such thing," Jason closed his eyes and was illuminated by a bright silver aura. "I won't let you." The aura grew larger and he disappeared within it.

Ruerto- 8000/33000 (2100/1200)

Jason- 3000/0 (1000/1000)

The aura dissolved to reveal Jason, except his hair had shifted to a silver color. On top of his head were a pair of pointed silver fox ears, and swinging behind him was a silver tail of the same kind of animal. "The power of wind might not have any special abilities that can specially counter you…" He had a strange smile on his face. In fact he almost looked cheerful. "However I think it will do just fine."

"Another Graft?" Ruerto snorted in disgust. "When will you learn that you can't win just by switching strategies? I don't have any weaknesses!"

"If that was true then Wing wouldn't have told me that Graftborn have a big weakness." Jason grafted his knuckles and flexed his silver claws. "I'm not sure what this Graft can do yet, but it seems to want to follow a certain pattern of movement. Let's do this then, weird silver fox thing!"

"You don't even know the name of your own Graft, and you expect to defeat me?" Ruerto stabbed forwards, but right before he could connect Jason disappeared. ("So this is a speed type Graft?")

----------------

King winced and sat up slowly, clutching at his stomach. "Wow, I feel like he tried to put a hole in me."

"Don't complain," Flair said from off to the side, the samurai sitting cross-legged next to the unconscious Alita. "You didn't take a spear to the arm."

"…" King glanced at both of the other man's arms. "You can't seriously tell me that you can take a hit like that and still have that relaxed look on your face."

"I won't tell you then." Flair sighed as he watched the arena in front of them. "I wonder how long he intends to act this stupid."

"What are you…" King looked forward and twitched a couple of times. "What's he doing?"

"STOP ALREADY!" Jason screamed as loud as he could right before he rebounded off the wall of the arena, dodging another stabbing attack from Ruerto's spear-arm.

King lit up another cigarette. "Why's he telling the wood guy to stop? Why doesn't he just fight back and make him stop?"

"He's not talking to Masquil." Flair frowned as Jason grabbed a stone sticking out of the wall and tried to anchor himself to it, except the small piece of weak rock barely held on for more than a second before it snapped off and he continued rushing around the arena in a mad attempt to avoid getting hit. "He's telling his Graft to stop."

"His Graft?" King thought about that for a second and groaned as he figured it out. "The thing he's fused with is more interested in running that fighting?"

"That it is." The samurai had tried to tell Alita that it would be a bad idea to use that particular Prize Card, but she had told him that its abilities would be far too useful to him. "The creature the dog is fused with right now is called a Burst Fox. It is a rare animal that exists only in the meadows outside Mudeia. The reason I say it is rare is because the only person in this country fast and silent enough to catch one is the head of the Assassin's Guild in the Holy City, Deondre Anderson. The Prize Card was a present to Alita from him, because she always loved how beautifully the fur of the monster shined when it ran at full speed."

"…" King lifted an eyebrow at Flair. "Why would a top assassin be giving my dear angel things?"

"…" Flair glanced at his katana, and flicked it out just enough so the blade could be seen. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, sure." The fake Frenchman frowned as Jason came running by again, screaming at himself to stop running. "Is it really that hard to control?"

"I can't tell you for sure, but I can tell you this much…" The samurai yawned. "This is boring."

"Agreed." King cupped his hands in front of his mouth and shouted, "Hey Jason, pick up the pace and beat this guy already!"

"Shut up!" The Grafter went shooting by again, currently trying to grab his own legs. "I'm trying to stop this crazy thing right now, alright?"

"Though I'm surprised he's been running full speed for the last three minutes without stopping." Flair heard a little gasp off to his side and he looked down at Alita, who was sitting up and staring in front of her in amazement. "So you're finally awake?"

"Jason," The blond-haired girl cupped her hands in front of her mouth like King had and shouted, "When a Burst Fox is excited its body tries its hardest to move! The trick is just to make sure that a certain part of you is moving at all times when you're fighting!"

"Seriously?" Jason suddenly skidded to a halt, grinning like an idiot. "Oh, that makes a lot more…" Then he was shot forward like a cannonball as Ruerto slashed his back and sent him flying into the wall of the arena.

Ruerto- 8000/33000 (2100/1200)

Jason- 900/0 (1000/1000)

"Hah, so you finally have awoken?" Ruerto sneered at the girl. "You'll be coming with me very shortly, just after I beat down these three nuisances."

"That won't be happening." Alita smirked confidently. "I'm glad that Jason chose the power of the Burst Fox finally. That means he won't possibly lose to somebody like you…"

"What was that?" Ruerto glared at her. "What a stupid thing to say. Just take a look at how he had reacted so far…he's been running away!"

"That's because he needed a bit of time to get adjusted to the way a Burst Fox moves." She smiled at the ex-general winningly. "Let me give you a bit of trivia too…that a Burst Fox can normally only run about twenty seconds without a break. That's because its body doesn't have the stamina to go any longer than that…"

"So what?" Ruerto started to laugh…until he heard another set of footsteps from where he had hit Jason. "I place two Contingencies and end my turn. Take your best shot, coward!"

"Coward?" Jason shook the dust he had accumulated off himself, his tail puffing out slightly before he had to smooth it down. "No, that was the Graft wanting to run. I still want to kick your ass." He had been tapping his foot the whole time, the ground underneath the blur of movement that was his leg starting to groove. "Here comes my ultimate counterattack!" Since he hadn't used any cards last turn he just bent at the knees and got ready to charge.

"I activate this card from my hand, Spell Cancel!" Ruerto snickered mockingly. "I negate my Grand Battle effect, which means that now this duel is over. Without any magic power I'm not even sure how you've been able to continue fighting using that Graft, but it doesn't matter now! You can't use your technique cards, and a measly 1000 attack point form won't be enough to beat me!"

"Here I go!" Jason suddenly exploded forwards, covering the distance between himself and the other Graft-user instantly. "**Impact Shot!**" His fist cocked back and slammed into Ruerto's chin, hurling the surprised Graftborn backwards through the arena wall that was behind him. "Wow, this body has some real speed behind it!"

Ruerto groaned in pain and slowly pulled himself out of the hole that his body had made in the wall. "Regardless of how much speed you've gained, that was just a basic attack. My armor takes out 1000 points of any damage I suffer, so your attack was useless!"

"He's just getting started!" Alita began laughing manically.

("And I wonder why she gets mad when people call her arrogant.") Flair noticed that King was leaning in towards her with huge hearts reflected in his eyes. "Oi, do you not notice me sitting here with my sword…" When he was ignored he placed said weapon against the young man's neck. "Keep your hands to yourself!"

Jason placed a hand on his other shoulder and started winding his fist up, a miniature swirl of air coming into existence around the limb. "**Impact Shot**!" He launched forward and punched the slowly getting up Ruerto in the chin again, pushing him back through the hole in the arena wall. "Wow, your chin is really freaking hard to break…how is wood that strong?"

"How…" The ex-general slowly started to stand up again. "How are you still able to attack? I destroyed the effect of Grand Battle, and even if I hadn't you didn't activate another technique so how?"

"Oh that?" Jason cracked his knuckles, while his tail was twirling itself in a blur behind him. "At the start of my battle phase Burst Fox can attack a number of extra times equal to the number of cards in my hand at that moment. I was holding six, so I can attack seven times total this battle phase."

"That might seem like you've got some kind of advantage, but if all of your attacks are as weak as that one then there is truly no point!" Ruerto sneered down at the young man as he stood to his full impressive height. "I will crush you under my feet!"

"That's not really likely…" Jason returned to winding up his right fist. "I'm just getting ready to finish this fight so I wanted to make sure that your armor was as hard as I thought it was. Now that I've got a general idea how hard it is, I've also got a general idea how much effort it'll take to break it and you."

He launched forwards and stopped inches from the ex-general, the force of his charge still going and hitting Ruerto while creating a sound like that of a gunshot. "**Impact Setup Shot!**" His fist launched forwards and shattered the already bent wooden armor, hitting the wide-eyed ex-general in the gut and forcing him backwards into the wall again.

Ruerto- 7000/33000 (2100/1200)

Jason- 900/0 (1000/1000)

Ruerto gasped painfully and coughed up some blood. "My armor failed…how?"

"Impact Setup Shot lets me destroy an item before I attack as long as I can catch that item in the air around my body when I charge." Jason leapt up into the air as a huge patch of brambles exploded out of the ground where he had been standing and in a twenty-foot radius around Ruerto. "Oh, that Contingency thing again?" He started spinning rapidly, creating a tornado that slammed down into the brambles and tore them to shreds as it approached Ruerto swiftly.

("He defeated my Bramble Trap that easily?") The ex-general stumbled backwards and tried to guard, but there nothing he could do as Jason suddenly exploded out of the tornado he had created and, still spinning, landed a powerful punch across the man's face.

"**Impact Sidewinder!**"

Ruerto- 6000/33000 (2100/1200)

Jason- 900/0 (1000/1000)

Jason touched down and cocked his fists back together they exploded forwards together, creating a wall of fists that slammed against Ruerto's body mercilessly. "**Impact Turret!**"

Ruerto- 3600/33000 (2100/1200)

Jason- 900/0 (1000/1000)

The Grafter launched into a rapid spin upwards, stopping about ten feet above Ruerto's head and using the build-up wind from his upwards movement to let him come down rolling in mid-air, so that when he landed a drop-kick to the ex-general's head it was properly charged up. "**Impact Ground Bomb!**"

Ruerto- 2600/33000 (2100/1200)

Jason- 900/0 (1000/1000)

"This can't…be happening…" Through blood-blurred eyes Ruerto tried to get his opponent clearly into view. "I am the mightiest in Shunsuna, the great Ruerto the Immortal…you are just a little boy."

He snarled angrily and spikes exploded out of his body, turning him into a living body of needles. "My ambitions won't be stopped by you! **Bramble Guard!**" (Contingency: When life falls under 3000. +1000 attack when attacked during this turn, afterwards equip to self and increase attack by 300.)

"Your ambitions?" Jason hopped back a step and somehow stood perfectly still, his arms cocked at his sides and his hands curled into fists. "Heh, your ambitions are about to go down the drain…and you're about to fly away."

"Impudent brat!" Ruerto braced himself as he saw the ground around Jason erupt into a storm of building wind. "You don't see these spikes coming out of my body, do you?"

"I see them just fine." Jason suddenly launched forward, his two hands slamming right into the barbs coming out of Ruerto's body and then into the ex-general's chest. "**Impact…**"

King gasped as he watched Jason stupidly pierce his own hands. Off to his side Flair was silent, while Alita was just smirking arrogantly.

For that one moment the ex-general had his eyes wide in surprise, mind trying to grasp what was happening. ("My ambitions…crushed by some unknown little boy…how…how was he able to use techniques when he had no magic points remaining?")

(6000/1000) "**…Cannon!**" Jason's arms stood strong against the impact of the connecting hit. Ruerto on the other hand…

Ruerto- 0/33000 (3100/1200)

Jason- 900/0 (6000/1000)

----------------------

Regimond glanced around his office in confusion. "Why is the prison shaking?" He had questioned his orb for the reason why, but as of yet he had gotten no answers.

Something exploded out of the ground in the middle of floor in his office and crashed into the ceiling before depositing itself in heap in front of his desk. It was a twitching mass of broken wood and badly pummeled flesh.

"Ruerto Masquil?" The Warlord of Lions couldn't believe it…hadn't the ex-general been fighting the intruders? Touching his crystal, he quickly inquired as to where the intruders were now. "They must be close to this location, but if that is true then I must make sure the guards are…"

One of the four guards that normally remained in the room and who weren't currently staring in amazement at the utterly demolished body of Ruerto looked up at the giant Warlord in concern. "What's the matter, Lord Akutast? How close are they?"

Regimond exploded into hearty laughter. "They're still ten floors down, in the lower arena!"

The jaws of all the guards dropped immediately. "WHAT?"

"Incredible…" The Warlord of Lions gazed into his orb amusedly, the image in it of a Burst Fox Jason, arms still stuck outwards, and still surrounded by the remaining bits of built-up wind energy from his Impact Cannon. "That boy sent a hardened criminal like Masquil through ten sheets of ten-foot thick stone…"

"Sir, should we apprehend them for the damages done to Shunsuna?" One of the guards gripped his sword tightly, not wishing to go fight whoever had done this to one of the most terrifying men in the entire prison…but his duty was a clear thing in his mind.

"No." Reigmond smiled at the sigh of relief that same guard let out. "They've earned the right to leave with their lives. Kyris the Hell also left not too long ago, and it seems that the two Guardians are headed their way now. If they fight then it will be a sight to behold, but since I doubt that prepare to have them led out of Shunsuna immediately."

_To be continued…_


	16. Guardians of Two Identities Part 1

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

Amongst the crashing sound of lightning in the background, a pair of leather boots walked across the blackened earth of the parched land that surrounded Shunsuna quietly. "So he won, huh?"

Wing adjusted his hat on top of his head, his black cape flapping in the wind behind him. "I was wondering if that kid was going to figure out the truth yet. Apparently he got it right without even realizing it too."

"Well you have to admit," Someone said from behind the scruffy-looking man. "That kid is a lot like his father. It's amazing that he turned out to be a Grafter though…this could provide an excellent opportunity to study the power of the Legendary Class up close."

"Maybe," Wing yawned. "The real question though is whether or not he'll be able to make any changes in this world. Think about it, Feather…the kid may have taken down Ruerto but that was just because of luck and because he happened to have found an excellent Graft to combine with to make use of his natural talent. Will he be able to achieve the same kind of things his old man did?"

"We'll see soon enough, won't we?" A black-haired woman dressed in regal armor stepped into line with the scruffy man. "Temarocia is in need of a new hero, and if there is anyone who can do it then it would be him. He's an entire adventuring party in one person thanks to those Grafts."

"Maybe, but that doesn't matter if he isn't careful." Wing tipped his hat over his eyes. "For now let's just wish him our best and leave it at that."

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 16: Guardians of Two Idenities (Part 1)

King and Flair stared wide-eyed at the gaping hole in the ceiling of the arena, while Alita cheered her lungs out and ran towards Jason.

The young Grafter used his teeth to pull out the barbs that were stuck in his palms, spitting the bloody pieces of wood onto the ground. "Well, how'd I do?"

"How'd you do?" Alita grabbed his hands in her own, jumping up and down in excitement. "That was incredible! I didn't think you would suddenly come up with your own moves like that on the fly! How did you know that Burst Foxes created their own air currents with their fur?"

He blushed a little and looked away, the silver fox ears on his head perking up. "It wasn't anything special…I just followed my gut instinct and did what it told me to do. The Burst Fox must have known those moves."

"And what about the fact that you were out of magic?" Alita's eyes were lit up with questions.

"Well, I just decided that I wasn't as tired as that stupid magic point thing said I should be, that's all." Jason shrugged like it was obvious as to how he completely avoided a rule of an Adventurer's Duel.

Flair noticed that Alita had yet to release Jason's hands, and casually knocked the young man's arms up into the air with his sheathed katana. "Take your hands off of her, dog."

"I didn't take her hands in the first place!" Jason glared at the samurai. "What are you so afraid of anyway?"

"I'm supposed to protect her, and you are by no means considered safe to touch. She might get your rabies." Flair snickered coldly. "Or worse, fleas."

"Do you want me to bite you, jerk?" Jason bared his fangs, growling under his breath until King dropkicked him to the ground.

"Calm down," The fake Frenchman turned and knelt in front of Alita, taking her hand and kissing it gently. "My dear lady, let this elegant knight take you in his arms and we shall ride into the night…"

Both Jason and Flair punched him at the same time. "Knock it off!"

"Both of you knock it off too!" Alita slapped them both. "Why are…all of…" She stumbled forward suddenly, eyes drooping and face flushed. "I don't feel so good…" Her legs buckled underneath her and she collapsed face-first to the ground.

"My angel?" King placed a hand against Alita's forehead and looked up at Flair urgently. "She's burning up! We need to get her medical attention right now!"

Flair glanced at the two large doors at the other end of the arena. "We have someone approaching our position at this very moment too. Take Alita and go hide."

"I'm not hiding." Jason flexed his claws. "I've still got a ton of energy left over to fight with!"

"That's not why I'm telling you…" Flair suddenly looked rather thoughtful. "Very well. I will get her to safety. You two hold off the approaching enemies and make sure they don't follow us for at least ten minutes, all right?"

"Ten minutes?" Jason popped his neck out and his tail started spinning rapidly, turning into a propeller as he started charging up wind energy. "That sounds like a piece of cake, right King?"

"For my angel's sake it will be a piece of the most delicious cake ever baked by any man…a cake meant for French Kings!" The blond-haired boy summoned out his Carrier and pointed at the double doors. "Now come, intruders, and let me blow you away with my kicks of love!"

"…." Flair scooped up Alita and ran for the hole that had been created by the earlier fighters. "I'm counting on you both."

---------------------

Though he was tired, Daniel had the drive to continue running. ("I've never fought that hard in my entire life, and considering the situation I certainly don't ever want to have to fight that hard again.") He was not a swordsman by nature, even though his ability to see into the future allowed him to move masterfully when wielding a blade. "Deondre, she's just up ahead but she's also moving away rather swiftly."

"There are two unknowns ahead in the arena area. Should we avoid them?" The Assassin moved along at a leisurely pace so as not to leave the Seer in his dust. "They do seem to be the ones that protected Princess Alita though."

"Then I want to express my gratitude to them both. Plus the Princess must be moving away from them for a specific reason, and I want to know what that reason is." Daniel sheathed Future Edge. "Let's find out what they're up to."

-----------------------

Hands in his pockets, King glared at the two Guardians as they entered through the double doors leisurely. "Hey, what's the deal with those relaxed walks? Do you guys think that you'll get to my angel so easily?"

Jason grinned excitedly. "Let's not waste too much time King, we'll ask questions later."

"Agreed." The fake Frenchman kicked the ground once and smiled widely. "Here I go! My…"

Deondre calmly stepped past King, seeming almost to have teleported from across the fifty-foot plus distance. "It seems they are rather quick to fight."

King gasped and collapsed to his knees, mouth wide open as he tried his hardest to suck air into his lungs. ("I can't breathe. Why? When did he approach me?")

Daniel close-lined Jason with his elbow calmly, stopping the Grafter's Impact Cannon before it even connected. "I don't know why you expected me to be easy to hit."

The two Guardians shrugged to each other and kept walking, apparently having been mistaken about the identities of these two.

A few minutes later Jason awoke, already having returned to normal. "That was the swiftest loss I've ever had in a fight…how about you?"

His ability to move slowly returning, King groaned sorely. "I have failed my beautiful angel…"

-------------------

Flair cursed and skidded to a halt as he realized that Deondre had somehow appeared in front of him. ("Those fools didn't even buy me the ten seconds I expected to get, did they?") He had know that those two were going to be easily defeated by a pair of the Guardians of Mudeia, especially considering the Princess was nearby…but he had expected them to at least spend a few moments bantering.

"This strange game of the princess's is over, Flair." The Cross of Shadows lifted his stilettos up and aimed them at the samurai. "Stop this futile running and hand her over. Mudeia has been in a state of turmoil ever since her disappearance and the fact that the man who should be keeping her safe in the castle is running around with her playing Wandering Swordsman doesn't help the situation."

"I cannot return her because I don't listen to you. I listen to her." The Samurai drew his katana with one hand and bit the hilt of it, speaking around the mouth-full he had now of lacquered leather. "Princess Alita has ordered me to make sure that none of you capture her. I am quite serious about this too, so please do not make me fight you Cross of Shadows."

"Flair, you are not one of the Guardians of the Kingdom." Tapping his weapons together, Deondre prepared to fight. ("I must be careful not to hurt Princess Alita.")

"Hold it Deondre!" Daniel, panting for air, finally arrived. "Sheesh Flair, do you always have to run so fast? Just return Princess Alita and come home with us already. You know as well as I do that this is just one of her fits…"

"Milord Seer, though you can see the future you do not possess the ability to see the world." He turned to look at Daniel with one of his eyes, the other sticking to Deondre to make sure the Assassin could not sneak attack him. "If Alita says that she will find Adventurers strong enough to take down Kyris the Hell without having to endanger the kingdom then I will follow her to hell and back in the name of that quest."

"It's a sweet notion, but I doubt we're going to be that lucky." Daniel frowned angrily. "At the moment we are sure that Kyris is stronger than two of us put together, but weaker than three of us. Unfortunately he also has the ability to be teleported long distances, which means that if we send a strong enough force against him then he could just go to Mudeia and overwhelm the weakened defenses there."

"That's why there are never more than two of you out of the kingdom at a time, I know this." Flair glared at them both angrily. "Why is it wrong for the princess to want to protect her people by finding those strong enough to beat Kyris?"

"Because there are no such people in this world. Those in this country with strength either already work for Kyris or want nothing to do with us." Deondre crossed his arms together coldly; taking the normal stance he took when he was angry but didn't wish to express it with his words. "Now surrender before I cut that long hair of yours on accident…that would be a shame."

"I welcome you to try…" Flair's right eye widened slightly as he realized that someone was approaching from behind Daniel. ("If it's one of Ruerto's men then we might have a problem.")

"That hurt, you jerk!" Jason came flying in towards Daniel's unguarded back, fist cocked to strike. "**Impact Shot!**"

The Seer turned and blocked the pressurized blow with the flat of Future Edge, a slight smile on his face. "So you really are the one who protected the Princess along with Flair?"

"You're damn right I am!" Already rebounding from the backlash of his blocked blow, Burst Fox Jason touched down on the stone floor and broke into a spin, becoming a swirling tornado. "And now I'm going to kick your ass because you had the audacity to walk over me like I was some kind of doormat."

"…" Daniel smiled slightly and put on his grey glasses. "So you're a Graftborn too? Well regardless considering that the Princess's life is at risk while she is around you we'll have to take her home. You can just go find someone else to play with, young man."

Jason held up three fingers. "You just made three mistakes."

His fingers dropped and he held up one. "First off, I'm a freakin Grafter."

Another finger rose up. "Second, I ain't playin around."

"And the third?" The Seer pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, already slipping into the future with his mind.

"The third is…" Jason sucked in a huge amount of air and then screamed it at the top of his lungs. "ALITA IS PART OF THE FREAKS GANG!"

"Wait a second!" Flair spat angrily around his sword. "When was that decided?"

"All present members in favor of Alita joining us say 'Aye!'." Jason snapped his hand up. "Aye!"

"Aye!" Yelled King from behind his friends, hearts in his eyes. "My angel will be the perfect addition to our gang!"

"Then by the power invested in me as the strongest guy in the Freaks Gang currently, I declare Alita Meijer as an official member!" Jason's dramatic declaration was weakened a bit because King drop-kicked him for the 'strongest guy' comment.

"You're initiating her right NOW?" screamed Daniel, Deondre, and Flair in unison and in amazement.

"That's right!" Jason cracked his knuckles. "As such, she gains full rights and privileges of being a member of the Freaks Gang. When she is in danger, we will without fail come to her aid!"

"When she needs protection," King took a puff of his cigarette and tapped his shoes against the ground to make sure they were on tightly. "We will provide it for her."

"Now then," Jason disappeared within a swirling shaft of wind, emerging normal moments later. "What business do you have with our newest member, Four-Eyes?"

Deondre stepped forward, brandishing his stilettos. "This kind of arrogance will not be tolerated. Princess Alita is a member of the Meijer Royal Family. There is no way she would be associated as a member of any lowly gang, regardless of whether they possessed a Legendary Class or not."

Daniel held a hand behind him, smiling warmly. "So you want to fight for Princess Alita?" After a few moments he chuckled and his Carrier appeared. "You remind me of someone, young man. What's your name?"

"Jason 'going to kick your ass' Valerio." Running a hand through his sweat-matted hair, the New Yorker sneered confidently. "What about you, Four-Eyes?"

The Seer slowly sheathed his sword and adjusted his glasses. "My name is Daniel Pilkington, once the apprentice to the greatest Seer this world has ever known. I am the man who has sworn to protect the members of the Royal Family, and therefore I will fight you to my last breath to retrieve Alita."

"Then you'd better enjoy those breaths while they last…" Jason swiped a thumbnail across his throat threateningly, that sneer still on his face. "Because Alita is currently a member of our gang, and that means a whole lot more to me than this stupid Royal Family thing you keep babbling about."

Daniel started laughing, though not with malice. He was truly finding the humor in this. "To you this bond is so close, huh? Very well then, I will honor that bond and let you fight me. If you win then Alita goes with you, but if I win then she returns with us to Mudeia…deal?"

"No deal!" Jason pounded his fists together. "This fight between us is because you had to go and walk over me like I was your doormat. Whether Alita goes with you or us will be decided when she wakes up. It's her choice, and we aren't going to get involved until she tells us, in person, that she wants our help."

"Then this is just a battle between us over you getting taken down by me?" Daniel couldn't stop smiling. ("How very odd…your words remind me far too much of someone…")

"That's right!" Jason got his Duel Deck ready. "As such, I don't have a reason yet to actually beat your face in. Besides, I'm kind of tired and you don't look so hot yourself. Let's determine this with a duel, shall we?"

"I accept those conditions." The Seer removed his Life Deck from his Carrier and glanced back at Deondre and nodded to him before drawing his opening hand. "Are you ready, Jason Valerio?"

"That's right, I am!" The young man drew five cards from his deck. "Let's do it!"

"Duel!" They both yelled at the same time.

Daniel- 8000

Jason- 8000

_To be continued…_

Author's Notes: Hello to you all. Thank you for bearing with this bizarre little story of mine so far, and I hope that the strange concept of an Adventurer's Duel has been fun to read because for me it has been fun to write. While I'm not really accepting characters for this particular story, feedback about the effectiveness of the Adventurer Duel system would be appreciated if you could find the time.

Temarocia is a very vague world right now, with its history and rules being made up as I go along. Therefore it is a great place to base a story, as both you and I can unfold the truth behind this world together.

I'll be trying to get a forum up soon for Song, as I'm sure that some of the rules for dueling must be confusing and you more than likely have a few questions. Once again, thank you for reading up to this point and I'll have the other part of this chapter out by tommorow.


	17. Guardian of Two Identities Part 2

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

"Milord Kyris, how was your business in Shunsuna?"

"It wasn't half bad," Landing in his throne and crossing his legs casually, The Hell lounged back and smiled. "I got to have a bit of fun with two of those guardians. I didn't get to see the Grafter though, which was a shame. Then again I guess it doesn't matter. If he had met me he probably would have wound up destroyed."

"That goes without saying." The shadowed attendant said. "Would you like me to prepare your evening meal?"

"Not yet," The young Warlord rested his head against one of his hands. "I'd like you to send out a little message for me first. I've got a couple of things I'd like to let the current men in charge of the countryside sectors know about."

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 17: Guardians of Two Identities (Part 2)

"_That's right, I am!" The young man drew five cards from his deck. "Let's do it!"_

"_Duel!" They both yelled at the same time._

_Daniel- 8000_

_Jason- 8000_

Daniel grabbed the top card of his deck and drew it, adding it to his hand. "Flair, is Princess Alita alright?"

"No, she is currently running a fever." The samurai had yet to drop his guard, as he knew that Deondre would take that moment to steal her from him. "She is also not responding to me, so I believe she has lost consciousness. This may have something to do with the criminals who had her before the dog recovered her from them."

"It can't be helped then." Daniel fanned out his hand. "For now I'll have to beat you, Jason."

"That's not going to happen." The black-haired boy pointed at the Seer. "I don't know what kind of weird ideas you've got going through your head concerning our newest member, but knock it off."

"…" Daniel sweat-dropped and scratched the side of his head with a finger. "Umm, what are you talking about?"

"You're creepy because you've got creepy glasses, so that means you've got ulterior motives for her!" Jason crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. "Would you like to argue with me on this matter?"

"I have the feeling that even if I did argue you wouldn't listen." The Seer grabbed a card from his hand and threw it down, a silvery hero wearing futuristic armor and hefting a powerful energy cannon over one shoulder. "I summon Future Hero Cannon Man!" (1000/1000)

"Future Hero?" Jason tilted his head to the side at the strange hero. "That's really weird."

("In our world there are Destiny Heroes and Elemental Heroes, so I wonder what these heroes do.") King took a puff of his cigarette as his hand, which was trying to sneakily inch over to caress Alita's cheek, was smacked away by Flair. "You're becoming a nuisance."

"You are becoming a stalker," The samurai countered.

Daniel coughed into his hand sharply. "The effect of Cannon Man lets me guess the top card of my deck. If I get the type correct then during my next turn's standby phase you'll take 1500 points of damage." He placed his hand on top of his deck. "I guess monster." Holding it up, he didn't even bother looking before he dropped it into his graveyard slot. "I already know I was correct."

"Huh?" Jason blinked in surprise…and then pointed at Daniel with a couple of veins bulging out of his forehead. "CHEATER!"

"It's not cheating." The Seer pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose gently. "My ability to see into the future is entirely fair in Temarocia. This is a world where you have to take whatever advantages you are presented with."

"I see…" Jason nodded sagely, and then removed his deck from its slot, fanning it front of him and starting to rearrange the cards. "Well if cheating is legal here then I may as well go with the flow."

"…" Daniel started twitching. "You don't seem to get it."

"Of course I get it." Returning his now stacked deck to its slot, Jason grinned. "You're cheating, so I'll cheat to even the odds."

"I'm not cheating," Daniel reiterated calmly. "It doesn't matter whether you stack your deck or not. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Draw!" Jason held up the drawn card without even looking at it. "I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck." Adding two more cards to his hand, he grinned. "This predicting the future thing is really cool."

"That's not predicting the future," Daniel muttered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. ("This guy…he reminds me way too much of someone that is just on the tip of my tongue…who though?")

"And now that my predictions of the future have come true, I'll do this!" Jason held up a monster card. "I activate the effect of Thunder Dragon, discarding it from my hand to grab the other two from my deck." He slid the card into his graveyard slot and added two cards from his deck to his hand, shuffling it up and putting it back in a random order.

"What's the matter?" Daniel placed a hand on his hip, showing he didn't really care. "Got tired of 'predicting the future' already?"

"Yeah, it really takes the fun out of the game." Jason threw a card in front of him and an oriental-looking man holding a curved sword appeared on his field. "I summon Tenkabito Shien in attack mode!" (1500/1600) "Attack Cannon Man now!"

"Trap card open." Daniel's set card flipped up.

"Hah!" Jason pointed at him with a huge grin on his face. "My guy is unaffected by trap cards! I fooled you!"

"Not really." Daniel's Cannon Man was suddenly glowing, surrounded by a gray chain. "Chain of Events activates and equips to a Future Hero when activated. This card powers up the equipped monster by 500 attack points." (1500/1000) Cannon Man took aim and fired a powerful laser from his weapon into Shien, the warrior replying by throwing his sword across the expanse and piercing the hero. Both of them exploded at the same time. "When Chain of Events goes to the graveyard after being equipped to a Future Hero its other effect activates. I may now select the bottom card of your graveyard and make it the top card of my deck, if I so wish."

"The bottom card of my graveyard…AHHH!" Jason's jaw dropped as his Pot of Greed was spat out of the graveyard slot and it appeared on top of the Seer's deck.

"Also," Daniel slid Chain of Events into the graveyard. "During my standby phase I may pay 500 life points to return Chain of Events to my hand."

"SUPER CHEATER!" Jason screamed angrily.

"How is it my fault that you were stupid enough to do exactly what I knew you were going to do?" Daniel smiled slightly at the perplexed look that crossed Jason's face. ("Dance puppet, dance.")

"If you knew I was going to do that then even if I surprised myself it wouldn't surprise you so…so…" Jason's right eye twitched and he looked over at King. "Yo King, what's the deal with airline food?"

"…" The fake Frenchman took a puff of his cigarette, a bored look on his face. "Even for you that was absolutely stupid. Never say it again, ever."

"If you're trying to confuse my ability to read the future, then don't bother." Daniel yawned. "No amount of random actions will…" He sidestepped a shoe that was thrown at his head. "I'm not picking that up."

Jason jogged past him, picked up his shoe…and put it on his head. "Hah, bet you…"

"I did." Daniel smiled slightly again at seeing the black-haired young man twitch. "You can't confuse my ability, so let's just move on with the game."

"That's just what you want me to do!" Jason ran up and put his shoe on the Seer's head, running back to his spot. "Yeah, let's continue the duel though. I guess I can't beat your ability to see into the future. I set four cards face-down and end my turn."

Daniel glanced up at the shoe on his head, and cracked an amused smile before removing it and hurling it back at its owner. ("He's either smarter than he looks or he's just lucky. He's starting to see that my ability to look into the future isn't completely fool-proof. I knew the shoe was going on top of someone's head, but I didn't see it happening again so quickly after.")

"Draw." He grasped a card that left his deck and held it up. "During my standby phase Cannon Man's effect deals you 1500 points of damage!" A blast of energy appeared out of nowhere and slammed down onto Jason roughly.

Daniel- 8000

Jason- 6500

"And then," The Seer removed Chain of Events from his graveyard and added it to his hand. "I activate your Pot of Greed to draw two cards. The card recovered by Chain of Events is removed from the game when it goes to the graveyard." The draw effect card faded away and he drew two cards from his deck.

Daniel- 7500

Jason- 6500

"I activate Graceful Charity." Drawing three cards from his deck, Daniel discarded two of them and then held up another card. "I activate my own Pot of Greed, drawing two cards."

King whistled in amazement. "This guy is something else in the luck department."

"It gets a million times worse than that," Deondre said casually from off to the side.

"I activate I-Infinite Portal, adding one Future Hero from my deck to my hand." Removing a card from his deck, Daniel threw the card in front of him and a man wearing a futuristic hero suit that was built to resemble a bird's body appeared in play. "I summon Future Hero Cyber Falcon in attack mode!" (1200/800)

Another magic card appeared behind the monster. "I also activate the magic card M-Moment Scanner. This card allows me to destroy one magic or trap in play for every Future Hero I have under my control!" One of Jason's set cards exploded.

Jason stamped his foot against the ground angrily. "Aren't you done playing cards yet?"

"Not quite." Daniel pointed at his opponent. "Cyber Falcon, attack his life points directly!" The superhero dove right for Jason.

"Reverse card open!" One of Jason's set cards opened. "I activate the trap card A Hero Emerges, special summoning a random card from my hand to the field if it is a monster!" A lightning-covered dragon appeared on his field in a burst of energy. "Heh, there's one of my Thunder Dragons." (1600/1500)

Daniel didn't look surprised. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn." A pair of cards appeared face-down on his field.

"Draw!" Jason discarded a card from his hand. "I discard Special Egg because there is a monster on my field that had been special summoned. I can now special summon a monster from my hand to the field, but for the rest of this turn I cannot make another summon." Another Thunder Dragon appeared on his field in a flash. (1600/1500)

("And now he attacks…") The Seer heard Jason declare the attack and watched his Cyber Falcon get vaporized. "Reverse card open. I activate my Future Signal. During my next turn's standby phase I can special summon a level four or lower Future Hero from my deck or hand to the field and draw one card."

"That's all well and good, but what about the fact that I'm going to attack you again!" Jason grinned at his other Thunder Dragon roared and released a blast of lightning from its jaws. "Take this, Four-Eyes!"

"Reverse card open." Suddenly the field was clear of all cards. "I activate the continuous trap card Pocket Dimension. All cards except this card are removed from the game and will not return until my Pocket Dimension is destroyed." Daniel laughed at the long-jawed expression on Jason's face. "Sorry to laugh, you look funny when you act like that."

"I'm not done yet!" Jason threw the last card he was holding in front of him. "I activate the continuous magic card Super Determination. If this card is my only card on my field then I draw an additional card during my draw phase. End turn."

"Draw." Daniel removed a card from his deck. "At this time the effect of Future Signal special summons a level four or lower Future Hero from my deck to the field." A silvery hero wearing hover jets on his boots appeared in play. "I summon Future Hero Hover Man!" (1000/1000) "Also I draw one card by the effect of Future Signal. Hover Man, attack his life points directly!" The superhero launched across the field and kicked Jason in the chest. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Daniel- 7100

Jason- 5500

Jason coughed a couple of times and then drew twice. "I summon Earth Valkyrie Mecha in attack mode!" A tank-like humanoid machine appeared on his field. (1400/1500) "This monster's special ability lets me discard the top card of my deck. If that card is a monster then its attack rises by 500 points. If it's a magic card then I draw one card. If it's a trap then you draw one card." He flipped the pulled card over. "It's a monster." Discarding it to his graveyard slot, he pointed at Hover Man. "Go Earth Valkyrie Mecha!" (1900/1500) The machine unleashed a spray of missiles that pounded down on the hero and destroyed it.

Daniel- 6200

Jason- 5500

Daniel braced himself against the backlash and grasped a card from his hand. "At this time the effect of Future Hero Rescue Man activates now. By discarding it from my hand I can return a Future Hero that was destroyed as a result of battle to my hand!" He held up the Hover Man card. "When Hover Man is added to my hand by an effect he is special summoned!" The silvery hover-hero reappeared in play. (1000/1000)

"I place one card face-down and end my turn." Jason couldn't believe how annoying this guy was. ("He keeps dancing around with his deck and not working towards anything…is he mocking me?")

"Draw." Daniel pulled Chain of Events out of his graveyard and held up the card he had drawn from the top of his deck. "I activate the magic card Crystal Ball." He placed his hands on top of his deck. "I guess the top card of my deck, and if I am correct then I discard that card into the graveyard and draw two cards. If I am wrong the top card of my deck is added to my hand. I declare Future Hero Cyber Guard." He held the card up to show he was correct and then discarded it into his graveyard slot, drawing two new cards.

Daniel- 5700

Jason- 5500

King sighed sadly. "This duel is turning into a rather depressing situation…Jason can't beat an opponent of this caliber." While he was talking his hand was slapped away by Flair again.

"That is because Daniel can see into the future." Deondre tugged his face-mask down to reveal his grim smile. "That is the power of a Duelist Seer. They cannot be defeated by someone as simple-minded as your friend."

"We'll see, won't we?" The fake Frenchman took a puff of cigarette lazily.

"I activate Excavation of Magic Stones." Daniel held up two cards. "I discard two cards from my hand to add one magic card from my graveyard to my hand. I discard Chain of Events and Scrounging for Supplies to take back my Crystal Ball, which I activate again and call Chrono Searcher." He held up the top card of his deck to show he was right, discarded it, and then drew two cards.

Jason twitched a couple of times in frustration. ("He won't stop drawing cards!")

The Seer pointed at his Hover Man, which was swallowed up in a flash of light. "I sacrifice Future Hero Hover Man to summon Future Hero Disruption Man!" A towering humanoid in bulky armor appeared on his field. (2400/1500) "When this monster is tribute summoned one monster in play is destroyed!" The Earth Valkyrie Mecha exploded, a hole in space appearing inside it and causing it to implode in on itself. "Disruption Man, attack his life points directly!" The towering hero bellowed out and released a blast of pulsing lightning from its gauntlets.

"Reverse card open!" Jason's set card flipped up and the attack slammed harmlessly against a barrier of light. "Five Elements Guardian is a continuous trap card that costs the removal of a wind, earth, fire, water, and light monster from my graveyard to activate. All damage to me is zero!"

"I end my turn." Daniel smiled calmly, not surprised at all. ("I can see your future, so therefore you cannot surprise me. Without that element there is no way you can win in this duel. Even if it is just for pride, I will not lose here….because if I lose then it proves that some no-name Adventurer is better than one of the prides of Mudeia. That is unacceptable!")

"Draw!" Jason glanced at the card and threw it in front of him. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Draw!" Daniel glanced at Jason's newest set card. ("He won't activate it for the next turn or so, and going much farther into the future without aids is dangerous.") "I set one monster face-down and end my turn, since you have so skillfully evaded my attempts to hurt you."

Jason drew and threw the card in front of him, a spellcaster surrounded by five pulsing orbs appearing on his field. "I summon Five Element Magician in attack mode." (1600/1200) "When this monster is summoned and I have a light, earth, wind, water and fire attribute monster removed I can destroy all of your monsters in play!" A powerful blast of energy rained down and shattered Daniel's monsters.

"Trap card open." The Seer's monsters returned. "Past Relay activates after any number of Future Heroes are destroyed by a card effect controlled by my opponent. They return to play as they were."

Crossing his arms across his chest in frustration, Jason looked up at the ceiling. "If I have to duel so many cheaters while I'm here in Temarocia then I'm going to have to improve my deck, that's for sure."

"For the last time, I'm not cheating." Daniel pointed at the young man coolly. "Our lives rest on our abilities as duelists, as do the lives of thousands of people. Can you say the same?"

"Nope, can't say I've got that kind of responsibility." Jason continued to look up at the ceiling. "But you know, that doesn't mean a thing at the end of the day. If you can't say that you're happy with the way you deal with your problems then what's the point of thinking you're in the right?"

Daniel drew. "Please don't try to lecture me like you know what you're talking about." He added the card to his hand. "Mudeia is in a state of despair because our precious country has fallen to the hands of the five Warlords. Because of them…" His eyes started to darken from behind his glasses. "My master, the masters of the other Guardians, and the King of Mudeia died. The Queen is living her life in suffering and anguish because her husband has passed away and her daughter is out gallivanting around thinking that by doing something rash she can save Mudeia! That's not the answer! That's not the way that this country will be saved!"

"Is that so?" Jason asked unenthusiastically, eyes still finding the ceiling more interesting than his current duel. "Well you're allowed to believe what you want, I guess." He lowered his eyes to look across the dueling field evenly. "Even if you're wrong."

"What was that?" Daniel growled angrily. "Do you even know what this country has suffered because of those accursed Warlords? Can you really stand there and say that I'm wrong if you know nothing of the situation?"

"Yup." The black-haired young man stretched his neck to the side a little. "You're welcome to believe what you want, but I'll follow my own path in this weird-ass place."

"As will I," King added before his hand was smacked away again and a vein bulged out of his forehead. "You wanna die, Bushido Boy?"

"That's a pretty bold statement you make." Deondre frowned angrily. "It's also a pretty bold lie you state about Princess Alita being one of your gang members." His eyes narrowed just as darkly as Daniel's. "What do you intend to use her for?"

"…" Jason had suddenly gone silent.

Daniel continued his turn. "I sacrifice my facedown monster and Disruption Man to summon Future Hero Eternity Man!" A mighty thick-muscle silver hero with a pair of glowing jewels in his chest appeared on the field in place of the Seer's other two monsters. (2500/2100)

Alita's eyes slowly opened though her cheeks, face, and forehead still rather red. "Where are we," She muttered out weakly.

"We are currently being pursued by the Cross of Shadows and the Seer." The samurai blinked at the fact that the blond-haired Princess was no longer in his arms. "What the…"

"My dear," King said, having taken Alita from Flair. "Do not worry. You are a member of the Freaks Gang, and as such are under the protection of myself." He smiled widely at her, hearts in his eyes. "We shall protect you, my angel! Even if the sky were to fall towards you in anger, I would knock it away my mighty kicks of love!"

"Knock it off King," Jason muttered quietly, hands quietly clenching in rage.

"You see?" Daniel grabbed another card from his hand, eyes still rather dark. "The two of you just see her as a cute girl you can hit on! Well listen up, little boys, but this is serious business. Kyris the Hell is no joke, and he can't be brushed off as just a little distraction…that's not what my master and the King died because of!"

"Eh?" King grunted out, a vein bulging out of his neck in anger. "What did you say about my love for this beautiful angel, you pompous shaggy-headed goober?"

"I said, just like Deondre said, that you don't understand the concept of friendship or a companion. This isn't some game where you can just declare her a member of your gang and that somehow makes it all better! That kind of joke isn't funny!" The Seer snapped up a card. "I activate the magic card E-Extraction Beacon, returning one Future Hero from my graveyard to my hand!" His Disruption Man slid out of his graveyard and he added it to his hand.

Another magic card appeared on his field. "I activate the magic card Bad Fortune. One face-up magic or trap card on your field is destroyed!" The Five Elements Guardian card exploded. "I then activate the magic card T-Tracking Device, letting me cut the attack of one monster on my field in half to let it attack directly!" (1250/2100) "Eternity Man, attack him directly!" The mighty hero leapt across distance between the two and punched Jason square in the jaw.

Daniel- 5700

Jason- 4250

"I end my battle phase and during my second main phase activate the magic card TIME Warp, removing T-Tracking Device, I-Infinite Portal, M-Moment Scanner, and E-Extraction Beacon to skip your next turn and my next draw phase. During my next turn all Future Heroes may attack directly! Then this façade of yours will be over!"

"This isn't a façade." Jason's shadowed eyes were revealed to show that he was angry now. "Earlier the guy that looks like he's trying way too hard to be dark and mysterious said 'Use' when he was talking about Alita becoming part of the Freaks Gang."

"Yeah I was." The Cross of Shadows glared at the young man's back. "Would you like to dispute my reasoning? A pair of guys who couldn't be any older than twenty years declare the Royal Princess a member of their gang? You can't tell me that you don't have ulterior motives."

("What did he say…") Alita tilted her head slightly to look at Jason's back. "A member of your gang…"

"A pair of guys like you two, who apparently haven't had childhoods, don't seem to understand what the truth is." King returned Alita to Flair and walked past the samurai to face the Assassin. "There's a term that a member of the Freaks Gang once told us about…a word that you use to describe someone you really care about…a member of your crew…" He puffed on his cigarette and blew the clouds of smoke at Deondre. "It's…"

"Knockin' Mama…" Jason said with conviction…until King came flying by and drop-kicked him into the floor, eliciting a weak giggle from Alita.

Daniel's eyes widened slightly. ("Princess Alita laughed?")

"The term is _Nakama_, you twit." He slammed his heel down on the back of Jason's head in retaliation for his stupidity.

"Ouch, I bit my tongue." The black-haired young man turned around to face King. "Well excuse me for not knowing how to speak Korean."

"It's Japanese, like Saika!" King yelled right in Jason's face before he got punched in the chin.

"Don't breathe your disgusting cigarette breath on me, you jerk!" Then the two were suddenly rolling around in a heap with Jason trying to pin King's legs and failing, therefore getting wailed on.

Alita was laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing, the red in her face getting worse. Even Flair was cracking a slight smile.

Daniel and Deondre couldn't look more pissed off. "Knock it off!"

Jason rolled to his feet and brushed himself off. "Whatever, continue your turn then…"

The Seer glared at Jason angrily, the two remaining cards in his hand shaking with his rage. "How can you possibly be so happy-go-lucky about this? Don't you care about the fact that you'd have a Royal Princess with you when you are traveling? Can you really carry that responsibility on your shoulders?"

Jason sighed sadly. "Good lord you're stupid…"

Daniel growled in anger. "Eternity Man, attack his life points directly!" The superhero leapt over the Five Elements Magician again and punched Jason in the face roughly.

Daniel- 5700

Jason- 1750

"I'm not done yet!" Daniel snapped up another card. "I activate the quickplay magic card Quick Summon, sacrificing Eternity Man to summon Disruption Man!" The bulky silver superhero from before reappeared in play. (2400/1500) "When this monster is tribute summoned I destroy a monster in play, therefore your Magician is gone!" The Five Elements Magician screamed as he was hit by a wave of sound energy and blown apart. "This is the end! You pair of low-class fools won't bother Princess Alita any…"

"Is that all she is to you?" Jason screamed angrily right before Disruption Man blasted him with a burst of sound energy and his field exploded.

"Jason..." Alita's eyes widened as she realized what he had been so angry about…and then she started tearing up. "Is he serious? Just for that…"

"_Nakama_ is the word that changed his life…" King smiled around his cigarette. "Surprisingly, the guy is dependable in that he'll do everything he can for his friends and their names. In other words," He grinned. "He's serious enough to stake his life on it. Just on a word…"

Deondre was suddenly behind Flair, his stilettos armed to strike. "We don't have time for this, sorry Flair."

The samurai's eyes widened as he realized he had let his guard down. ("I have failed in my duty…")

"Hey _Glissement_," King said from behind the Assassin.

Deondre spun around just in time to catch a kick to the face that sent him stumbling backwards.

"You aren't touching my angel," The fake Frenchman took a puff of his cigarette and then stamped it out on the ground. "You two don't understand what's best for her at the moment, or else you wouldn't be trying to crush her dreams like you are."

The Assassin quickly adjusted, rubbing a scuff-mark from his chin angrily. "That was a good shot, but if you were expecting me to fall from just that then you're out of your league!"

"I didn't think you would." Unbuttoning the top button of his silk shirt, King stretched one of his legs slowly and prepped himself. "I can't play around with you, since you're a killer and all that…so I'll end this right now."

"You can't possibly expect to take me down, with your speed…" Deondre blinked in surprise as King was suddenly behind him. ("How did he…")

"_Les feu d'artifice par-dessus de Paris!_" The fake Frenchman did a wide-spread kick that caught the Assassin's face with the curve of his foot and brought the back of his head crashing to the ground with enough force to crack the stone. Then he did a full 360 spin until he was looking down at the fallen Cross of Shadows. "I don't know what you expected, but I'm not easily beaten!"

"Neither am I!" Deondre did a handstand and threw a spinning kick at King's side, the blond-haired boy blocking with his shin. ("I can't match this guy when it comes to kicks, but I can certainly…")

"Please don't fight…" Alita coughed out weakly.

King frowned and skipped back a couple of steps. "You heard the lady. You behave and I'll behave…"

Deondre glanced over at Daniel. ("I'll at least wait until Daniel has won so that he can help me. This guy's kicks are pretty powerful…I nearly lost consciousness for a second there.")

"Whatever you were going to chastise me on, save it." Daniel pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Someone who can't even match me in a duel isn't allowed to speak down to me."

"Then it looks like," The smoke cleared to reveal Jason unharmed. "I'm allowed to speak down to you. I activate the trap card Essence Revitalize, gaining 2000 life points at the downside of letting you gain 1000 life points."

Daniel- 6700

Jason- 1350

"So you evaded my killing blow?" Daniel grimaced angrily. "What were you babbling on about before…Princess Alita…"

Jason's face suddenly contracted in anger. "You said it again, you bastard!" He drew twice for the effect of Super Determination. "I activate the magic card Element Formula, allowing me to bypass the requirements of the next card I play! And my other card is Five Element Cannon, which can only activate if I sacrifice an earth, water, wind, fire, and light monster on my field. All cards on your field are destroyed!" A powerful explosion of energy roared from the card across the field and obliterated everything in its path.

Alita's eyes widened in amazement. "That means…"

"Pocket Dimension is destroyed…" The Seer frowned as the two Thunder Dragons and the two set cards that Jason had lost returned to play. (1600/1500)x2

Jason pointed at Daniel. "Thunder Dragon double direct attack!" Both of his monsters unleashed a roaring strike of lightning that slammed into the Seer's body and wrenched a scream of pain from him.

Daniel- 3500

Jason- 1350

Dropping to one knee, Daniel felt the wounds he had suffered from his fight with Kyris open. ("I'm not in top form at all...and this guy is stronger than I had thought.") "But for Princess Alita's sake, I won't lose!"

"Cut the crap, you liar!" Jason's set card flipped up and his two Thunder Dragons disappeared, replaced by a huge double-headed version of a Thunder Dragon. (Another Fusion: Normal trap card; Select fusion material monsters on your field and send them to the graveyard, special summoning an appropriate fusion monster from your fusion deck to the field. This summon counts as a fusion summon.) (2800/2100) "You aren't doing this for Alita's sake at all!" The fusion monster released a double lightning blast that crashed into Daniel's chest roughly.

Daniel- 700

Jason- 1350

"Of course I am doing this the sake of Princess Alita!" Daniel stumbled backwards and drew his sword, feeling his strength sapping away.

"Then why do keep calling a name she can't stand being called?" Jason's other set card flipped up to reveal De-Fusion and his Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon changed into a pair of Thunder Dragons again. "A guy like you, who doesn't treat her like a human, doesn't stand a chance! Double direct attack!" His two monsters released their power and sent the Seer skidding backwards even more.

Daniel- 0

Jason- 1350

The smoke created by the final strike cleared as Stonequill Jason exploded through it, forearm spines out and ready to strike. "Do you really want to do what's best for Alita or what's best for Mudeia?" His spiked tail came flying down in a spinning arc towards the Seer.

"They are one in the same!" Daniel blocked the heavy tail with his drawn Future Edge, bracing himself against the attack and countering by swinging the crystal-edged blade at the Grafter's head. "Can you really say you know what's better for her?"

Blocking the blade off one of his forearm spikes, Jason twisted on his heels and kicked the sword up into the air before being swallowed up in a pillar of fire and emerging in his fire Graft. "**Inferno Spray!**" He exhaled a powerful blast of fire directly in front of him.

"Have you so easily forgotten my ability to predict your every action?" Daniel, already standing off to Jason's side, lifted his sword up above his head and slashed down at the red-haired skull in his view.

Jason deflected the sword off of his arm, leaving a huge gash in his skin but also allowing him to complete a powerful punch right into the Seer's stomach. "I don't have a clue what's better for her, but I do know that if a member of my gang is in pain that I'll break the cause of that pain!" Then he switched to Burst Fox, the punch suddenly gaining enough power to throw Daniel off-balance. "**Impact Setup Shot!**" Jason continued forwards and punched the Seer in the stomach again while his target was still compressed slightly.

Alita watched the fight weakly, unable to believe it. ("He's pushing back one of the Guardians of Mudeia…") All of a sudden it didn't seem impossible. Was it possible that somewhere in this country there were people strong enough to help her homeland free itself from the grasp of Kyris the Hell?

Daniel coughed up a spray of blood and rolled head over heels backwards a few feet before he was back on his feet, breathing heavily. "What are you?"

"I'm Alita's _Nakama_." Jason lifted his head up, silver fox ears folded back in anger. "I'm also the strongest guy in the Freaks Gang! And I'm going…" He launched forwards and punched straight ahead, the Impact Shot getting blocked by the flat of Daniel's sword. "…to kick…" He sneered suddenly and released a torrential number of Impact Shots, pummeling the Future Edge and numbing the Seer's arm, as well as shaking him up to the point he could no longer stand straight. "…your ass!"

Flair stared wide-eyed at the scene transpiring before his eyes. ("Even though Daniel Pilkington is the weakest of the five Guardians of Mudeia, this is impossible…is this the power of the Burst Fox or the power of the dog?")

"I told you, all of your attacks are…" Daniel's moment of bragging turned into a moment of fear as he saw cracks appearing in the steel of Future Edge.

"Just because you can see it coming doesn't mean a thing if you can't do a thing about it!" Jason's body was surrounded by a powerful aura of wind energy. "Alita is Alita, not Princess Alita. If she had wanted to be called that then the ass wouldn't have been so careful to call her Alita, now would he?"

Daniel's eyes reflected how impossible he believed this situation to be.

"Now go cool your head off and sort out your priorities, Four-Eyes!" Jason shot forward and slammed his fists straight through Future Edge, shattering the sword into little pieces and hitting Daniel in the gut full force. "**Impact Cannon!**" Then the Seer disappeared as he was blown down the hallway and through the wall.

----------------------

One of the guards for the outer wall of Shunsuna screamed in surprise and dropped to the ground as something exploded out of the wall below him and shot into the sky. "What the heck, did someone fire a cannon inside the walls of the prison?"

The white and grey blur that quickly became a single star of light in the night sky had no answers for the very puzzled guard.

-----------------------

Alita, despite how feverish and weak she felt, had to stand now. Using Flair as her crutch, she stared at the hole that had been created by one of the strongest Mudeia had to offer. "He lost…Daniel Pilkington, the Seer of Mudeia, lost…"

Jason turned to look at Deondre, cracking his knuckles. "You got a problem, bud?"

King took a puff of his cigarette, still standing between Alita and the Assassin. "I suggest you leave while you've still got the ability to do so. This isn't a fight you can win without your friend."

The Cross of Shadows frowned and pulled up his face-mask. "Flair, take good care of…" He glanced over at Jason for a few seconds.

The Grafter returned the look with one of utter contempt. "Say 'Princess Alita' again, I dare you."

Legs shaking weakly, Alita looked over at the Cross of Shadows. "Deondre, please tell the others that I'm in good hands here with my friends. We will find enough Adventurers who are strong enough to create a force that can defeat Kyris the Hell."

After another few moments of silence the Assassin nodded and disappeared.

Jason was swallowed up in a burst of flame, emerging from it in his fire Graft form again. "And once again Doctor Valerio makes a house call." He touched Alita's forehead with a finger. "Sorry about this, but I'm getting whatever it is that was making you sick out of you."

"That's why I gave the Curse-Eater card in the first place…stupid…" The blond-haired girl smiled weakly through the burning pain that erupted in her body as the potion that had been given to her was purged in the incredible heat created by the Graft.

-------------------------------------------------

"_Mon Cheri_ Alita, let me carry you while you recover! I shall make the ride as comfortable as a cloud of cotton as you press yourself against my warm back and whisper sweet nothings into my ear!" King leapt towards the blond-haired girl with his arms stretched out wide.

"That's enough out of you!" Both Jason and Flair yelled at the same time as they kicked the fake Frenchman in the face and floored him.

Alita, now looking completely fine, smiled at the three. "Thank you very much for offering, King, but I think I'm alright."

"Shall we finally get out of here?" Flair looked up at the ceiling and grimaced in displeasure. "I have the feeling like the longer we remain here the more strong opponents will appear, and I've had my fill of fights today."

"Agreed." Jason pointed forwards at the hole in the wall that had been created by Daniel's body. "Let's set off, Freaks Gang and Freak's Gang Member Accessories!"

"Are you calling me an accessory?" Flair shouted angrily.

"Well you're certainly not part of the gang, that's for sure." Jason ducked under a punch aimed for his head.

"Before we go…" Alita blushed as she said this. "I have something I want to say to the three of you."

"We don't have time…" Jason was silenced by a kick to the head from King.

"I just…" Alita took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "I wanted to thank you all for bearing with me. I know I've been a burden up to this point and I…"

"Shaddup," Jason said off-handedly as he stood up from the kick, not really affected by it.

"Huh?" The blond-haired girl blinked in surprise, not expecting to have been stopped in the middle of what she had wanted to say.

"I said shaddup." Jason put his arms behind his head. "We didn't do anything that we wouldn't expect another member of the Freaks Gang to do for us if we were in your position. If you really want to repay us though then make sure you do your best to make sure your dreams come true. The rest of the gang is somewhere in Temarocia, and we need to make sure they're all safe, especially Saika." He turned and started walking away slowly.

"Jace, you jerk!" King shouted at the dark-haired boy's back. "You don't speak to my angel that way!"

Alita stared at Jason's back in awe. "I…but…"

Jason sighed exaggeratedly. "As Sai once put it, '_Nakama don't need to thank each other for little stuff,_' right?" He turned to face her, putting an arm around King's neck and grinning. "Ain't that right, Frenchy?"

"That's right, my dear angel!" The fake Frenchman grinned just as widely. "I would gladly do my best for your sake, just as I expect the same from you! We're like one big family…except that we allow dating because we aren't related or anything." He hastily added that last part.

Alita's eyes had started watering in the middle of Jason's sentence, but now she had tears streaming down her cheeks. "_Nakama…_my family…" Then she nodded happily, a big smile on her face. "I'll do my best!"

"Alright, let's get going already!" Jason turned and started marching off swiftly. "We've got places to be!"

Flair walked alongside the Grafter, a slight smile on his face as they got a little bit ahead of their other two companions. "It's been a long time...since she's smiled like that. Regardless of my personal opinion about you, dog, I am in your debt for fighting for her happiness like that."

Jason glanced over at the samurai. "You say something, Mr. Accessory?"

"I will behead you one of these days," Flair announced just quietly enough to be heard.

"That's what I thought you said." Jason grinned and looked ahead. ("We've got a whole bunch of things we've got to get to, but without a doubt it's going to be freakin' fun.") He couldn't wait.

_End of Shunsuna Arc_

Author's Notes: It was an extra-long chapter, but there was a lot of stuff I had to get out of the way in this chapter. And so the Freaks Gang (And one Accessory) now head out into the country to locate their other members. What awaits, will they meet the Guardians of Mudeia again, and what was Kyris's message? We'll find out in the next arc, named 'Rainbow Flower Arc.'


	18. Adventure in the Kingdom of Gold

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything in it.

_The sound of a car honking loudly could be heard on the streets of New York. "Watch out!"_

_---------_

_Jason grinned widely and took a sip of his soda. "I'm telling you King, with your kicks and my…ummm…"_

"_Stupidity," The fake Frenchman said after taking a sip of his espresso._

"_Yeah that…wait no!" Jason slammed his hand down on the table in front of him. "I'm just trying to say that you and I could rule the streets with our power! We're the ultimate in warriors and we could easily rule all of New York!"_

"_Yeah, I suppose you're right…" King stood up from his seat and took a step back. "Oh yeah, and heads up."_

"_Hu…" Jason glanced over to his right and his eyes bugged out of his head right before a car went barreling through the window of the restaurant and bounced him off of its hood._

_King continued to drink from his cup while casually watching the vehicle roll to a stop in the middle of the restaurant, luckily not having harmed anyone else in the process. "Maybe we'll get our meals free…"_

"_Why didn't you get your friend out of the way faster?" One of the waiters shouted at the black-suited young man._

"_Because I didn't feel like spilling my drink." King pointed at the unmoving Jason. "Plus…"_

"_Now I'm pissed!" Dirtied and bloody, Jason leapt to his feet with a couple of veins bulging out of his head. He ignored the screams of 'zombie' that some of the already terrified patrons yelled. "Whose fault is it I spilled my drink?"_

_King pointed at the car sitting in the middle of the restaurant. "There are your culprits, my good man."_

"_Good, I'm going to kick their ass!" Stomping over to the driver's side of the bright red car, he opened the door and wound up his fist. "I'm going to…" He stopped in his tracks and his right eye started twitching. "…ummm, what are you doing?"_

_Sitting in the driver's seat was a girl wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a cat playing with a ball of yarn on it and a pair of jeans. Her facial features said that she had an Oriental heritage. What were strangest about her were two things though. The first was that her hair was rainbow-colored, meaning that from one end of the straight mass to the other it went through the spectrum of color…and the other weird part was that her arms were straight in front of her, wrapping around the wheel of the car while her eyes were squeezed shut and she was holding perfectly still. "Did I stop?" She squeaked this out and opened one eye carefully. Then she screamed as the first thing she saw was a bloodied hand reaching for her. "Keep away from me!"_

_("That sounded like a…") King's eyes widened and he did a flying kick across the restaurant, kicking Jason in the head and sending the black-haired young man flying into a wall. "Prince Charming to the rescue!"_

"_Prince Charming?" The girl opened her eyes all the way and crawled out of the car, standing up and blinking at the heart-eyed King in confusion. "You're not a Prince, you're just a weird fishbowl-hair guy." Her eyes scanned the restaurant…and stopped when they came over the twitching Jason on the ground. "Oh my goodness, did you do that to him?"_

"_Well, I suppose I did…" King rubbed the back of his head nervously. "He had it coming though."_

"_That's so mean of you!" She yelled in King's face before running over to help Jason up. "Are you okay?"_

"_Just dandy," Jason grinned weakly…and then a small spout of blood erupted from his forehead. "Name's Jason, what about you?"_

"_I'm Saika Higa, nice to meet you Jason!" She smiled sweetly at him while behind them both King sulked at having been shot down._

Song of Temarocia; Rainbow Flower Arc

Chapter 18: Adventure in the Kingdom of Gold

A loud roar echoed across the brilliant green forests of Temarocia. _"Insolent mortals, how dare you interrupt my meal!"_

"Would you look at that, a talking lion," Jason whistled in amazement up at the giant white-furred feline that looked big enough to swallow him whole. "It's not our fault that we're starving and you had to go and kill such a big thing."

He motioned to the giant purple sloth-looking monster that the lion-monster had slain. "And it's not like you're going to eat the whole thing either. Just let us take a little bit of it and we'll be on our way."

"This is crazy…" Alita whispered fearfully from behind Flair and King, the three of them standing a good distance from the Grafter and the titanic monster.

"_You cannot seriously expect me to just hand over my prey to you without a fight, can you?"_ The lion leaned in close and snapped at Jason's head, expecting to remove the young man's skull from his shoulders with the attack.

"You're a jerk," Jason muttered this while in his Stonequill Graft, his arms holding the lion's jaws perfectly still. "I guess we don't have a choice. Get him King."

"You dork." The fake Frenchman hurtled through the air and slammed the heel of his foot on the giant monster's head roughly. "_Charger à la tête!_" His heel connected and there was a loud explosion of pressure as the monster lion's head pushed back into its neck and its body fell over, having stopped moving. "Why did you need me to take it down though?"

"Because it was being annoying and I didn't have any reason to kick its ass." Jason nodded wisely at his own words, as if that was enough…

King glared from his position still hanging in the air and dropped out the sky to slam his heel down on the back of the Grafter's head, crushing him into the dirt below them roughly. "You really are testing my patience with your stupidity. I didn't mind it so much since when we were in Shunsuna, but it's been three days since then and you're still acting like you're the leader of this group! If anyone here is qualified to lead it would be me, not you!"

"Is that so, fishbowl head?" Jason changed back to normal and tackled his friend. The two of them rolled around in the dirt kicking and punching each other angrily.

Alita sighed tiredly and sat down on a nearby rock. "They've been fighting like this day and night…don't you think they need to start acting like a team or else there's no way we're ever going to be able to defeat Kyris the Hell?"

"They said that they had companions, so perhaps we should focus on locating these friends of theirs. After all, I doubt any of their friends could fight as much as these two seem to." Flair looked up at the sky and his eyes widened slightly. "Oh look, a News Winger."

"News Winger," King took a puff of his cigarette, sitting on top of the mass of collapsed and bruised flesh that was Jason. "What's the heck is that?"

Something that looked like a seagull and a hawk combined landed on the tree branch overlooking the clearing the fight had taken place in. "Welcome to the Golden Region of the Warlord of Pleasures, Don Karot. The cost for an information scroll is 100 tem."

"Did he say Warlord?" Jason said this from his position sitting atop King, who he had proceeded to somehow overcome in the short amount of time it took the bird to speak. "There are more Warlords than just Kyris?"

Flair nodded quietly and rested against his sheathed sword, which he placed the crook of his arm around. "Yes. The Warlord of Hell was their leader, but ever since his death all of his lower subordinates started calling themselves Warlords as well and began splitting up the country into their own chunks called regions. Kyris the Hell doesn't seem to care either, finding all of them a good source for amusement."

"Yes, we'll take one information scroll." Alita pulled some gold coins out of her pocket and placed them in a small leather sac the creature lowered to the ground. The sac rose up and moments later a rolled up scroll landed in her lap, the bird taking flight. "Now let's see what the deal has been with this region lately." She unrolled the scroll and started reading it.

King kneeled down next to her, acting as if he hadn't just gotten into a fight at all. "What might you be reading, my delicate flower?"

"It's called an information scroll, you creepy stalker." Flair pushed himself in between the two and sat down, angling his sword up to intercept King in case he tried to get to Alita again. "It's a scroll printed daily that puts out information of importance to the range of influence it is meant for. This scroll is for this specific region, so therefore the information here is more than likely heavily influenced by the Warlord of Pleasures."

"Oh, so it's like a newspaper." Jason had a bloody chunk in meat in his hands and was in his fire Graft form, breathing flames on the chunk to cook it. "I love this Curse-Eater form; it's like being my own barbecue!"

Alita continued to scour the scroll for useful information, and suddenly she blushed bright red. "Oh, nothing at all in here…" She crumpled the scroll up and hurled it at Jason. "Please burn this now."

King's leg shot out and blocked the ball of parchment, kicking it into his grasp. "It's been awhile since I've read something, and I don't want to turn out to be like Jason." Unfurling the scroll, he started looking it over while Alita bit her lower lip worriedly. "Hmmm, what's this? It looks almost like an advertise…" His eyes suddenly changed into hearts. "We must go to this place!"

"Huh?" Jason looked over King's shoulder at the advertisement. "Karot's Kingdom, the newly established center of gambling and good times in the Golden Region. Come on over and our lovely female staff will cater to your every need as you party the night away…"

We…" King turned to look at Jason, a dead serious expression on his face. "…are going to this place for information. We will be able to find the rest of the Freaks Gang if we go there, Jason."

"Are you serious?" The now back to normal boy shouted around the huge chunk of cooked meat hanging out of his mouth. "Let's get going then!" He turned and broke into a mad dash straight ahead, disappearing beyond the trees. "Freaks Gang, we're heading to Karot's Kingdom!"

"…" Alita's left eye twitched a couple of times as she stared at the spot where Jason disappeared into. "Does he even know where he is going?"

------------

_Several miles away in the direction opposite the way Jason had gone…_

------------

The sound of slot machine levers being pulled, the glow of neon lights, the taste and smell of a fine wine, and the touch of velvet carpet…it could all be found in this one place. Established by the man who had once served under the original Warlord of Hell as a master of ceremonies, it was a place where one could have their dreams come true…at a price. It was a multi-story tower painted gold or perhaps made of real gold…either way it was a sight to behold. It was the stronghold of Don Karot, Karot's Kingdom.

"Are you serious?" A rumbling voice yelled out from within the confines of an office overlooking a bustling casino floor.

"_Quite serious,"_ The image of Kyris the Hell reflected through the golden mirror hanging from the wall in the office showed the young Warlord grinning to whoever he was speaking with. _"Don Karot, there is a Grafter out there that defeated Ruerto Masquil. According to my information network he may be entering your territory very soon, or perhaps he already has."_

"And the bounty on this man's head…" A pair of trembling hands wearing an amazing number of bejeweled golden rings held a piece of paper in their grasp tightly, the crumpled image of Jason visible in the shadows of the office. "This isn't a typo?"

"_20,000,000 Tem for the man that brings me this Grafter, dead or alive."_ Kyris continued to grin cheerfully. _"I thought I would tell you about it personally, Don Karot, as I'm sure that you were going to be skeptical about the actual bounty amount. However let me reassure you that I am quite serious. This man is very important to me, and I want him taken care of properly."_

"If he dares to enter my territory," One of the two hands curled into a fist and slammed down onto the desk with enough force to shake the whole room. "Then you can expect a call from me the following afternoon to receive my reward for his death."

"_I look forward to hearing the good news about it,"_ The image of Kyris disappeared and the room grew brighter as the lights turned back on.

"Gansaku, Bronzo, Revlis!" The rumbling voice yelled out loudly. "Get your useless asses in here right now!"

The door to the office opened and a trio of men wearing silver, bronze, and pyrite-colored trenchcoats entered the office. The lead was the one wearing the silver trenchcoat, his Cimarron-colored dreadlocks dangling around his Rastafarian features. "Whatcha be needin', boss?"

The second man, the one wearing the bronze-colored robe, adjusted his sunglasses and sneered as he brushed back a lock of his long brown hair coldly. "Well I gotta say that so far boss that this meeting has been pretty boring."

"We haven't even started yet!" The other three shouted at him.

"Well hurry up and let's start then so I can say this meeting is boring." Sitting down at the leather couch located near the door, the man crossed his legs and started tapping his hands against the arm of the couch impatiently.

"You're far too quick for your own good, Bronzo." The third man had a glittering head of golden hair, his shining curls bobbing with each of his movements. "You must learn to control your speed and when you do you shall find that an eloquent life will be waiting for you."

Bronzo crossed his arms across his chest and seemed as if he went deep into thought…before he yawned. "You're boring too, Gansaku." Then he turned to look at Don Karot. "Hey Boss, can I go already? We've been here for fifty minutes and haven't gotten anything done."

"You haven't even been here for fifty seconds yet!" The fist crashed down hard enough to send a crack through the wood of the table. "Now listen up, all three of you!" It held up the picture of Jason. "If you see this guy enter the casino contact me immediately and send security to catch him. Don't let him escape if he shows up!"

Revlis grabbed the piece of paper and scanned it slowly, making sure to remember all of the little nuances about the young man's face. "Alright Boss, you be wantin' us to take down this guy if we see 'im?"

"Use your own judgment in such situations." The hand reached into a pocket and removed a golden pocket-watch which it flipped open. "Hmm, it's time for me to check the floor. Remember your orders and Bronzo, wake up!" A heavy golden paperweight was hurled across the room, bouncing off the now sleeping bronze-coated man's skull and awakening him with a snort.

------------------------------

_At the same time…_

-------------------------------

"We're here!" King skipped up to the rows of golden-handled glass doors that led into Karot's Kingdom. "This oasis in the desert of my heart will be the perfect place to revitalize my energies…" He tugged on his torn silk shirt and sniffed himself too. "Blech, I smell terrible and look terrible."

"The place was less than ten minutes from our location," Flair commented casually. "I also note that the dog isn't here, which means he is lost."

"Aren't we here to find information on your friends?" Alita asked from off to his side, eyeing the fake Frenchman suspiciously.

"Ah yes, of course," Nervously lighting up a cigarette, King started chuckling. "How careless of me to make it sound like I'd forgotten." He turned to face Alita. "However, don't you think that this would be a good place to recover from our last three days living out in the wilderness?"

"Well now that you mention it," Alita tugged on her dirty robes gingerly. "These are getting pretty rank…" Just imagining being able to take a nice bath warmed up her insides. "It would be so nice to finally pamper myself again. Don't you feel the same way Flair?"

"Alita," The samurai commented quietly from off the side. "Even while at the palace I was living in the Royal Garden and bathing in the ice-cold waters of the pond there."

"Such is the life of a samurai," King commented before pointing at the doors. "Now let us go, Alita, and return to the beautiful glory of cleanliness we once knew! I'm sure they must have tailors here too!"

"Alright," She smiled happily. "We may as well take advantage of our situation, right?"

"Yes ma'am!" The fake Frenchman saluted her with one finger and walked inside the coolest he could, trying to counteract the fact that he looked like someone had dragged him through the mud.

Flair followed immediately after, with Alita at his flank. "Take as much time as you need, I'll be wandering around the gambling floor trying to pick up information on interesting people located outside the Region."

----------------------------

Jason was staring at a tree. "Maybe it's a parrot?"

The giant brightly-colored pterodactyl screeched in anger at the young man and adjusted in its perch on the branches of the towering oak tree he had come across.

"Or maybe some kind of weird flying lizard!" The Grafter started pacing back and forth while the creature up above him continued to hiss in anger at being disturbed. "I wonder if it tastes good or not."

The pterodactyl-parrot thing launched down from its perch and grabbed his shoulders with its talons, starting to lift him up into the air as it got ready to crush him against the ground.

"Oh, maybe it's a chicken that can fly!" Jason declared this to himself while the monster dropped him from a height of fifty feet to come crashing into the earth. Then it returned to its perch and fluffed up its feathers…before sweat-dropping as he stood up from the crater his body had created in his Stonequill Graft, apparently unaffected by the fall. "Actually now that I think about it maybe it's a penguin? No wait, Penguins can't fly…"

"And now that I think about it…" Jason looked around in confusion. "Where am I? Where is everybody?" He looked up at the parrot monster thing as it dove for him again. "Hey…" His tail snapped up and smacked the creature across the face, sending it hurtling into the trunk of the giant oak. "Do you know where this is?"

The monster collapsed in a heap on the ground with swirls in its eyes before it disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving a Prize Card in its place.

"I guess not." Pocketing the card, Jason sniffed the air and started wandering. "Guys! Where are you?"

_To be continued…_


	19. Playing the Odds

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

Song of Temarocia; Rainbow Flower Arc

Chapter 19: Playing the Odds

The inside of the brightly lit tailor shop was so well-polished it was almost blinding on its own. Sitting at the counter was a rather tall and skinny man with a bored look on his face sliding his finger along the squeaky clean marble that made up the countertop.

("Business has been slow these last couple of days. I wonder if it has anything to do with the ruckus being caused in Mudeia.") He had heard that one of the five Holy Guardians of the city had been incapacitated temporarily. "So I suppose the citizens are being rallied together to try and make up for the slack left in that missing Guardian's place."

A jingle at the door told him that perhaps things were about to pick up. "Hello, is anyone here?"

"Ah yes!" The man hopped to his feet and practically danced across the smooth wooden floor. "Oh my sir, what happened to you?"

King shot the tailor a grin. "Let's just say I've had a very rough time these last few days and I am currently in need of some fine threads. Perhaps you could be of assistance? I need something black and in silk, if you've got it."

"But of course we have it, sir." The tailor did a little twirl on his tip-toes like a ballerina. "However, black silk is quite expensive and, please do not take this personally, but you do not look like you are carrying much wealth on you."

"That's true, I'm not." The fake Frenchman held up a finger. "What, if I may ask, kinds of games are there on the casino floor?"

The tailor rubbed at his chin while continuing to spin around with one leg bent so that its foot was touching his other knee. "As per always there are the slot machines. There are also the Duel Tables, which hold different kinds of duels that range from normal one round duels to a network duel."

"A network duel?" King lifted an eyebrow. "What the heck is that?"

"You don't know what a network duel is, sir?" When his reply was a shake of the head the tailor sighed. "A handsome young man such as yourself shouldn't walk into places like Karot's Kingdom without knowing what kinds of challenges may await you. A network duel is a multiplayer duel where the house plays against a maximum of three players at a time. Damage dealt becomes a gain in life for the dealer, and other players may enter when one of the three spots open. Your life is equal to the amount of Tem you bet at the start of the game, and you walk away with an amount of Tem equal to your life."

"That sounds fair enough," King scratched his chin with a nail. "But it also sounds like a pretty easy game to play the odds in, where you can just run off when you get ahead and come back a little while later."

"Ah, but you can't leave until your life points are zero or until the dealer is beaten." The tailor held up a finger and waved it in the air chidingly. "It is quite high stakes in that method, so whatever amount you bet initially needs to be the correct amount. If you didn't bet enough then you might lose it all thanks to a single hit that drops you to zero, but if you bet too much the other players may decide to attack your life points to fill their own coffers. It is a very cutthroat game in that way."

"I see…" King fished around in his pocket and flicked a little bronze coin into the air. "I'm not quite sure how much Tem this is, could you please tell me?"

"That would be a five Tem piece, sir." The tailor lifted an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"No real reason." King turned and walked out. "I'll be returning shortly."

------------------------------------

Flair moved like a shadow, walking amongst the assorted casino-goers with as much stealth as he could muster. ("So far there's no sign of anything out of the ordinary for a seedy place such as this one.")

-------------------------------------

"Nothing to report at this time, Don Karot." The black-suited security guard walked alongside the Warlord of Pleasures briskly as he spoke. "There has been no sign of the Grafter and everything is quiet here on the casino floor."

"Is that so?" Walking just ahead of the guard was a well-tanned bald man wearing a gold-colored business suit and a gold boa around his neck, a cigar hanging from one side of his mouth. "Well then keep your eyes open and tell me immediately if you see the Grafter."

"Yes sir." The security guard broke away and headed off in a different direction, bobbing and weaving amongst the neon lights of the machines.

This is where Don Karot felt his strongest. He was surrounded by the fruits of his labor, the place that lived separate from the harsh and unforgiving world just outside those glass doors. ("This is my stronghold, a place where those with money come to spend it on the vice of their choice, while I reap in the benefits and become a rich man because of it.")

"Don Karot, something of mild interest to report," Another black-suited security guard that seemed to appear out of nowhere said just loud enough for the Warlord's ears alone. "At Network Table Three there is a 'rags to riches' currently in progress."

"I see." The Warlord nodded slightly and changed directions to head over that way. A 'rags to riches' was a situation where someone with almost no money whatsoever upon entering the casino started betting and since that time have been winning big.

--------------------------

"And I activate French Air Bomb." King held up a magic card and placed it on the table behind his monster cards. "My French Jet Fighter now can attack you directly."

The man who had been sitting across from him gasped in surprise and looked at the few remaining card in his hand. "But…"

King- 65005

Man- 0

House- 6700

"That is just how the proverbial cookie crumbles, my good man." King lit up another cigarette as he noticed that while there were some loiterers watching the duel there weren't anymore entrées. ("That's too bad; I guess this is a healthy enough sum of money though.") "Shall we finish this up, my good dealer?"

"I think that will be enough, the House folds." The dealer stood up and shuffled together the deck he had been given. "You have been credited 65000 Tem, sir. Have a nice day."

King grinned as he was handed a small stack of cards worth 65000 Tem total if he took them up to the Cashier. "Thank you very much." Pocketing the cards and shuffling up his deck he turned and headed over towards the Tailors swiftly. ("It's time to finally return to my past glory and beauty.")

"So you are the one who is trying to rob me of all my hard-earned Tem." A gruff voice rumbled out from off to King's side.

The fake Frenchman stopped in his tracks and turned to face Don Karot, who was resting his back against one of the pillars nearby. "Then I take it you are Don Karot, the Warlord of Pleasures?"

Karot extended one heavily bejeweled hand out to the young man. "It is a pleasure to meet such a skilled duelist. It is not often that one would walk into my casino with a mere five Tem and emerge with over 13000 times the amount they started with, mister..." He left the silence there for King to fill.

"Mr. King will do." The fake Frenchman took that hand and shook it fiercely. "Indeed. You'll have to forgive my rather rugged appearance at the moment but I am currently on my way to use this hard-earned wealth of mine to get some new clothes and a good bath. I assume your establishment has such things?"

"But of course," The Warlord said pleasantly, placing a hand on King's back and motioning with his other hand off to the left. "The Private Bathes are there. They cost about 1000 Tem per hour. And from the direction you were going I assume you know where the Tailor is located, correct?"

"I do, in fact." King felt rather on edge around this man, if just because he was a Warlord. That put him in the same class that Kyris the Hell was in, which meant he was dangerous.

"Excellent!" Don Karot exclaimed, looking truly pleased. "Mr. King, even though I own this place I myself am not a very skilled duelist or gambler. I do not suppose you would like to spend this evening having dinner at the finest restaurant this casino has to offer, my treat of course. According to my employees your dueling strategy was very impressive and I wish to learn more about it. Would 8:00 be fine?"

"That would be fine." King smiled politely. "Now then, if you will excuse me Don Karot." Bowing shallowly, he headed off towards the Tailor's.

The Warlord of Pleasures watched the young man's back with a smile on his face. ("The smell of a truly skilled gambler wafts off of him. I must see for myself just how lucky he is. Perhaps we could have a game of Blackjack to determine whose luck is better?") Then he turned and walked off towards his office, his business on the casino floor complete for now.

--------------------------------

Alita sighed and adjusted her new white robes, her freshly cleaned hair nearly sparkling. ("I feel so much better now. It took a good amount of my money to pay for the new robes and for the bath, but it was worth it.") With her staff at her side she went to the place where she sensed Flair.

She found the samurai in a little café on the other side of Karot's Kingdom. He was sitting in a booth and taking a sip from a cup of coffee. "How was your bath, Alita?"

"Absolutely heavenly, thank you." The blond-haired magician sat down across from her caretaker. "So, what have you been able to find out?"

"That the employees here are an extremely nervous bunch." The samurai sighed in frustration. "They're like a group of frightened rabbits when I mention Don Karot or the idea of other regions. Therefore…"

"You think there is something more to this than just company loyalty?" Alita finished for him as a scantily-dressed waitress wearing a bunny costume walked by. "A water for me please." She turned to face the samurai again. "Well?"

"Indeed." Flair sighed in displeasure. "We have very little information about Don Karot except that he is extremely wealthy and seems to come across money very easily. However that doesn't tell us what all of this is about. Why are all of the employees here afraid of him?"

The waitress returned, placed a glass of water down, and continued on her way.

"Maybe he caught wind of Jason and King coming here?" Flair's eyebrows lifted slightly and he glanced behind him, though there was nothing there. "Hmmm, I thought I heard something." His hands moved slowly but easily visible for Alita's eyes, pointing behind him and indicating that someone was hiding in the booth behind them.

Alita nodded slightly. "Well anyway, it seems that those two are lost for the time being somewhere out in the wild. Maybe they got eaten for all we know."

"What?" Someone shouted from the booth behind them, though there was no one there. Then there was the sound of someone gulping.

"This is the saddest spy attempt ever." Flair stood up and drew his katana, sliding out of the booth and stepping back to aim his sword at whoever was hiding behind him. And he blinked in surprise at who it was. "I hope you're not expecting a tip now."

-------------------------------

King whistled to himself and adjusted the collar of his new black silk undershirt before sliding the black silk coat over it. "Ahhh, it's nice to cover myself in the only true material meant for this body of mine." Pulling on a pair of black silk socks, he turned to look at the Tailor. "Do you sell shoes here?"

"Well, we have one pair of shoes in the back but…" The man rubbed his hands together nervously. "Well, they're not exactly cheap or safe."

"Safe?" After looking at his other pair of dress shoes, which were worn out and torn beyond repair, King shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll take my chances with them. What's so dangerous about them?"

The Tailor sighed and rolled his shoulders in surrender. "Once I've gotten them out of the back with the help of the trolley you will see."

"With the help of the trolley?" King lifted an eyebrow at that. "I wanted dress shoes, not a pair of boots meant for moon-walking."

"They are dress shoes sir. Here, come into the back and I will show them to you." The Tailor opened a door at the back of his shop and went into the back with King following at his heels.

------------------------------------

"Ehhhhh…." Jason tilted his head to the side and looked at the falling sun with confusion on his face. "I don't get it. Where's this Kingdom place?" He had run into at least four dozen weird animals, and now his pack was starting to run out of room to place the Prize Cards in.

Far above a giant black crow flew by cawing down at him.

"Shut up, I'm trying to figure out where I am!" The Grafter stood up and sighed in anger. "Maybe I should ask for directions, expect that there was no one to ask directions from." Off in the distance he heard a loud explosion. "Until now." Picking up into a run he headed off towards the direction the explosion had come from.

"That's what you get for being boring, stupid tree!"

Poking his head out from behind a wide-bodied oak in front of him, Jason blinked a couple of times in confusion at the perfectly splintered tree a few dozen feet away. ("Did he just call a tree boring? What the hell?")

Bronzo kicked one half of the tree he had split and looked around worriedly. "I've been out here for years! Man, who knew it was such a trek to find the restroom in Karot's Kingdom." He placed a hand on his side and adjusted his sunglasses swiftly. "I thought all the restrooms were clearly marked too…"

"Hey!" Jason shouted. "Did you just say you came from Karot's Kingdom? Do you know the way there?"

Bronzo froze up and looked around nervously. "And now the trees are talking huh? You want revenge for your friend do you?"

"What?" Jason stepped into view. "Dude, that doesn't even make any sense. Why would the trees be talking to you?"

"AHHHH, Tree Sprite!" The bronze coat-wearing man stopped suddenly, holding perfectly still. Then, as if nothing had happened, his body relaxed. "Well, as much fun as it's been having this extra-long talk with you I have to be off." He turned and ran, moving fast enough to leave a dust trail behind him as he disappeared into the distance.

"…………" Jason followed the dust cloud silently, though in his mind he was wondering what exactly he was going to find at the end of this walk. ("With my luck it's going to be something random, like the mushrooms that guy has gotta be taking for him to be that freakin' crazy.")

--------------------------------------

King stumbled a little, trying to keep his balance as he made sure the new shoes he had gotten were on nice and snug. ("These things have got to weigh at least as much as a block of steel of the same size apiece.")

The shoes were beautiful, a nicely-polished shiny black…but they were apparently made of a material called Iron Cotton, which while as soft as silk was heavy enough to nearly break the wooden container they had been in. ("However as a martial artist I can't turn down this kind of training method, much less this kind of weapon.")

"Now then," The fake Frenchman wondered as he walked through the casino floor feeling like a true big-shot again. "Where are my angel and her accessory?"

His eyes scanned about…and came to a stop when he saw Alita. "My delicious piece of angel cake!"

She was laughing happily with someone in a little café just a few feet away. "Ali…" His eyes widened as he realized that she was talking with someone else, and it wasn't Flair. His mind registered that it was female, and was wearing a suit reminiscent of the Playboy Bunnies...

Sitting in the booth behind the one the two ladies were talking in, Flair smiled slightly as he listened to Alita laughing happily. ("It does my heart well to know that the little girl I've protected for so long is making friends, albeit weird ones…") Alita suddenly gasped and the samurai was immediately standing and on guard. "What's wron…oh it's you."

King, who had somehow mysteriously appeared on the bench seat next to the waitress, gently took the non-Alita girl's hand in his and kissed the top of it deeply in a gentlemanly manner. "I do not believe I have had the pleasure of meeting you yet, oh goddess of luck and the dashing gambler scoundrel. A beautiful lady such as yourself deserves a beautiful rose."

From out of the folds of his silk coat he produced a single red rose, which he offered to her. "If Alita is my wholesome angel of purity, then you must be my sultry devil of temptation."

"You understand, of course," Flair hit the fake Frenchman on the head with his sheathed sword. "That you're currently hitting one of your precious _nakama_, correct?"

"Ummm….King?" Saika, currently tomato-red in the face, started shaking nervously and tried to slide back a little bit. "Could you please maybe give me a little bit of room?"

"…" The blond-haired boy slid out of the booth in one smooth motion, readjusting the collar of his coat. "That is just merely how I greet all cute girls, don't misunderstand Mr. Swordsman."

Alita started laughing nervously while Saika started hyperventilating and Flair glared at King.

--------------

_Meanwhile…_

--------------

"Come back here!" Jason leapt over another giant tree root as he followed the rapidly dissolving dust trail in front of him. In the distance it was turning to night. "ARGH! Just stop running you fruitcake!"

_To be continued…_


	20. Wing's First Lesson

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though.

Song of Temarocia; Rainbow Flower Arc

Chapter 20: Wing's First Lesson

The sun was falling rapidly from the sky, the forest growing darker rapidly. "Damn it!" A single tree shook as if it had been struck, sending a cloud of frightened birds into the air above it.

Dirty and sweating from the amount of effort he had exerted so far in his futile dust cloud chasing, Jason looked to try and regain the trail he had lost. To him all of the trees looked exactly the same though. "Where did he go? How did I lose him that easily? I need to get to Karot's Kingdom, why is that so hard?"

"It's because you're following routes that have no trail and because you're asking way too many questions." The voice came from a hanging tree branch high above him. A few moments later the black-cloaked form of Wing dropped down from the sky and landed in front of the young man. "Yo, we meet…" He side-stepped as Jason made a flying leap to tackle him. "What's the deal with this, eh? You trying to catch me, kid?"

"You aren't running away mysteriously until you tell me which direction Karot's Kingdom is!" The New Yorker stood up and patted his stomach to assuage the grumbling coming from it. "I'm freaking starving! I don't even think I can use my Grafts right now…" He fell on his back. "I'm way too tired."

Wing laughed and pushed the front of his hat up a little. "You're way too honest. What if I was secretly an enemy? Wouldn't that information have given me plenty of reason to kill you right here?"

"You're not an enemy though, you're Wing." Jason sat up and crossed his legs to balance himself. "You helped me out when I was in trouble, so of course you wouldn't betray me right now."

"Of course." Wing laughed again. "You're really way too trusting of me, don't you think?"

"Did you come here to ask me if I trusted you too much, because if you did then I don't even want to bother talking to you." Jason fell onto his back again. "Ugh, I can feel my stomach gnawing at itself."

"Well then I won't keep you here very long." The man brushed back his cape and sat back against a tree. "I just wanted to tell you an interesting little bit of information about Stonequills."

"Stonequills?" The Grafter rolled over enough so he was looking at the man. "What about them? They're spiky?"

"If that was an attempt at a joke then I'll just be on my way." Wing stood up and started to walk off.

"Wait!" Jason leapt to his feet, made it about halfway to Wing's position, and then collapsed. "It's no good, I'm too hungry…"

"Heh," His cape covering his front, Wing turned to face Jason with an odd smile on his face. "You did well against Masquil, considering you used your wind Graft for the first time. It was a pretty big bet though…why didn't you use the Epic Level monster?"

"You mean the last one?" Jason stuck his tongue out at that thought. "Because it's too powerful to control right now, and trying to use it would result in me more than likely losing control. By the way, what's an Epic Level monster?"

("Good, I caught his interest.") Wing sat down in front of Jason. "Let me give you a little lesson on Wild Fusions and on Grafts and Graftborn in general." He held up his index finger. "There are two ways beyond the type of monster and element to classify Wild Fusions. They are called Integration and Graft Level."

"…" Jason had a far-away look in his eyes.

Wing cuffed the side of the young man's head. "Pay attention! This is going to be very important for you to know in the near future. Integration can be divided into three possible classifications. The first is Hidden, which is when the Graftborn can hide the attributes of all of his or her Fusion until needed. The second is Permanent, which is where the recipient of the Fusion is constantly wearing their Graft. The final is called Overload, and it's a rarity. It's where the Wild Fusion recipient actually turns into the monster that they fused with, the final product having their intelligence and thoughts but a permanent body."

"Right, three kinds…" Jason yawned. "Why is this important?"

"Because you're a Grafter and you need to know this crap!" Wing huffed angrily. "The other is Graft Level, which can change with time. The higher the strength of the monster though the harder it is to control when you're Grafted with it. That would be why you can't use the Light Graft, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right." Jason picked a piece of dirt out of his ear and flicked it away before he was cuffed again for not paying attention.

"So far you've found something interesting about the Burst Fox Graft, I'm betting." When Jason shook his head Wing's eyes started twitching in frustration. ("This kid must not be paying attention or something!") "Your endurance in that form, you idiot! A Burst Fox can normally only move full speed or use its wind powers for twenty seconds total every five minutes, while so far you've used it without a problem! Now why would that be?"

"Ummm…" Jason shrugged. "I've got a really good amount of endurance, maybe?"

Wing calmed down. "That's right. A Burst Fox is incredibly powerful but incredibly taxing on the energy of the Grafter or Graftborn. You seem to be like some kind of monster freight train when you fight though, so it's not a problem for you. However I'm wondering just how long you can last relying on that thing's air pressure attacks to win your fights for you."

"Huh?" Jason sat up and looked at the sky. "You think I can't win my fights without it?"

"What happens when you fight an opponent that is unaffected by Burst Fox's Impact attacks?" Wing smirked. "Every Graft has a word of attack that symbolizes their strongest attacks, and you already found the word for Burst Fox. It's Impact."

Jason started counting something off on his fingers. "Turret, Shot, Setup Shot, Cannon, Sidewinder…wow you're right, they all have Impact in their names."

"Do you know why you say them before you use them?"

"Ummm, just cause?" Jason figured that answer was wrong when he got cuffed again.

Rubbing his sore palm, Wing wondered what kind of rock the kid's head was made out of. "If you don't say the name of the attack before you use it then its power is halved at least. That's pretty bad if you're in a fight. Therefore you need to…"

"Learn the other key words for the other Grafts?" Jason relaxed when he didn't get cuffed. "Alright, that shouldn't be too hard. I just have to try as many combinations as I can, right?"

"It's not quite that simple." Wing stood up and brushed himself off. "Even if you guess the word it won't work until you understand that monster. I'm not sure how you immediately learned to understand the nature of the Burst Fox, but the others won't be as easy." He turned to leave. "If you go the direction I'm going and keep heading straight then you'll reach Karot's Kingdom in a few hours."

"Wait a second." His hunger temporarily forgotten, Jason hopped to his feet. "Weren't you going to tell me something about Stonequills?"

"Yup." The black-caped man leapt up into the tree-tops and disappeared from sight. "They're not just spiky."

"…" Jason blinked up at the spot Wing had disappeared from... "What does that mean?"

---------------------------------------

_Back at Karot's Kingdom…_

---------------------------------------

King twiddled his fingers together nervously, following the rules of conduct around Saika and not smoking one of his trademark cigarettes. "How did you wind up here of all places, Saika?"

"Well," The girl pulled the black coat she had borrowed from King a bit tighter around herself, biting her lower lip fearfully. "I'm not sure where to start…"

"If you're not sure where to start," Alita threw in, stirring a straw in her water. "Then try starting from where it all started."

"Well," Saika rubbed the back of her head, a green strand of hair falling in front of her face. "Alright, well I remember falling through the sky and waking up in this weird grotto…"

------------

_Flashback…_

------------

"How did I wind up in a city park?" Saika pulled a twig from her hair and looked around at all of the towering tropical trees that surrounded her. "Hmmm, maybe it's an exhibit in a museum…"

She suddenly stuck her tongue out in displeasure. "Blech, I hate museums though. That must be why I had that weird dream where Ricky was getting beaten up by this guy in black."

The brush behind her started moving back and forth. _"Who are you? How did you find your way into my secret hiding place?"_

"It's a talking bush." Saika blinked at the clump of foliage and waved at it. "Hello talking bush, do you know where this is?"

"_Answer my question!"_ A pair of shimmering white eyes lit up within the depths of the bush's shade.

"I fell from the sky." She pointed up at the sky. "I think…or maybe I dreamt that…" She gasped in understanding. "Or maybe I'm still dreaming now! That must be it, since bushes don't actually talk!"

"_I am not a bush!"_ A crystal-furred head poked out of the bush and sniffed the air fearfully. _"Are you a hunter? Have you come to kill me off like your kind has killed off my parents? Like you've killed off the rest of the Mirror Wildcats in this valley?"_

"Mirror Wildcats?" Saika stared at the little furry cat with wide eyes…and then she swept it up into a tight hug. "Kitty!"

"_Ack! Unhand me right this instant!"_ The crystal-colored feline hissed in anger and tried to bite her.

-------------------------------

"Wait…" Alita had her mega-sized tome open on the table in front of her. "You ran into a Mirror Wildcat? A live one?"

"Yeah…is that rare?" Saika sweatdropped. "I wasn't really sure…"

"They are an endangered species of monster." Flair made this comment from his sentry position at the booth behind their's. "It is highly prized for its fur, which is supposed to possess the properties necessary to make a potion that, when used in alchemy, creates a rare jewel called a Mirror Eye. Its worth is somewhere in the realm of one billion Tem."

"A billion Tem?" King whistled in amazement. "Wow Saika, you found a gold mine the moment you showed up in this place. I wound up getting my butt kicked by a guy named Kyris the Hell." A deep sigh escaped his lips. "It just shows the difference in our luck. So after you befriended it what did it have to say?"

"Hang on a second," Alita injected. "Mirror Wildcats, like most monsters, hate humans. What makes you think…"

"Well after I got him to calm down and I played with him a little bit I learned that I was in Temarocia." Saika apparently didn't notice as Alita face-planted into the table.

King chuckled at Alita's reaction. "Saika is part of the Freaks Gang for two reasons. The first is she seems to be blessed to avoid danger, while the other is that she can make friends with almost any animal no matter the circumstances. Well anyway Saika, how did you find your way to this place?"

"…" The rainbow-haired girl stood up suddenly. "I need to get back to work. I'll talk to you guys later, when my break comes around." She started to leave but was stopped when King's hand shot out and grabbed her own. "Come on King, seriously, I need to go."

After a few seconds of awkward silence the fake Frenchman removed his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly at Saika's back. ("You suck at hiding things. What happened, Saika?")

------------------------------

_Up on the top floor of Karot's Kingdom…_

------------------------------

"Excellent!" Don Karot clapped his hands together strongly. "Do you mean to tell me that you've seen this man, Bronzo?"

"Yup, that's the Tree Sprite I saw while I was going to the bathroom!" The bronze-coated man pointed at the picture of Jason sitting on the Don's desk. "I can't be sure but I think he was following me too."

"Considering how fast you move, mon," Revlis said from the couch. "That don't mean a thing."

From the other side of the room Gansaku ran a comb through his hair and started laughing eloquently. "Would you like to hunt him down, Don Karot?"

"No, that will not be necessary." The Warlord of Pleasures sat back in his seat. "I have a dinner engagement in an hour with a man I'd like the three of you to meet. He seems a bit dangerous and I'd like you three on hand in case things turn sour during the game I have planned."

--------------------------

Alita sighed in frustration. "Well there's no way we can just ask her what happened. She won't tell us, will she?"

"Not a chance. She can be very tight-lipped when she wants to be." King groaned a little and took a puff from his cigarette. "She picked up that little trait from the most stubborn of all the Freaks Gang members…"

"I see you happen to know Saika," A woman's voice came from the same booth as where Flair was. "It's nice to know that poor girl has at least a couple of friends…"

"And who might…" King turned to look at the booth behind him and immediately had hearts in his eyes. "_Mes yeux brûlent avec les feux causés par votre brûler la beauté chaude!_" Pulling a bouquet of roses from out of nowhere, the fake Frenchman hurled himself out of his seat and landed on his knees before the person seated across from Flair, extending the group of flowers while bowing his head slightly and holding his eyes closed. "One such as you must be a goddess that descended from heaven to be worshipped by a humble man such as myself."

The current target of his affections was a vision of brown-haired mature beauty wearing a uniform just like the one Saika had been wearing, but the big difference was that her uniform was adorned with numerous glittering jewels and bits of gold. Resting her chin on a well-manicured hand the woman laughed pleasantly and took the bouquet from King. "You must be King, the 'Casanova'."

"That is merely hyperbole, Madame." The fake Frenchman stood up and took another puff of his cigarette. "I am not so simple. I am a man of many masks."

"It's a shame," She replied. "I prefer a simple man myself. They are much easier to please."

"For your sake," King quickly threw in. "I can change."

"Oi, that's enough out of you fishbowl." Flair crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, you said you knew what the deal was with Saika? First though, who are you?"

"Ah yes, how rude of me not to introduce myself." The lady crossed her legs daintily. "I am Head of Female Staff Ari Medora. As for dear little Sai-chan…" She sighed and did a King, pulling a cigarette from out of nowhere and holding it out to the fake Frenchman. "Got a light?"

"But of course," King offered his lighter to her and she lit up, taking a puff before a sad look crossed her face.

"Sai-chan…" Ari frowned. "There's no simple way to put it. She's a prisoner of this place, and a personal 'toy' of Don Karot."

For a few seconds it looked like King was about to do a Jason impersonation and declare that he was going to kick someone's ass, and then he quietly pulled up a chair. "Explain that in more detail before I misinterpret it and start testing these new shoes on faces."

_To be continued…_

Author's Notes: The Song of Temarocia forum is currently up and running, though at the moment there are no topics. Please post any questions and the like you may have there.


	21. Saika The Smiling Captive

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though.

"And would you like to see our wine list?" Saika smiled cheerfully.

_A deep laughter echoed across the small room, the shadows flickering in tune with the sound of muffled screams of pain. "And until you tell me where that treasure is, you'll remain here. Every day you will experience this pain, and if you ever try to run away then I'll kill you in the most horrid fashion possible. There won't even be remains, just decorations for my personal treasure collection." The sneering face of Don Karot was revealed as some of the shadows moved. "Now then, my beautiful little rainbow flower…tell me all about the object I seek. Where did you hide it?"_

Her hands grasped the single ten Tem piece the couple that had been at the cafe had given her as a tip. "Thank you very much." And all the time she was smiling happily.

_Another muffled scream pierced the shadowed depths of the room. "A week of this and you haven't given up?" A low chuckle came from Don Karot, his hand glowing a molten gold color. "What do you owe that little piece of crystal fur? It was already close to death when Gansaku was done with it, and by the time we found you it was gone. I know it died, now tell me what happened to the Prize Card!"_

"I hope you had a pleasant meal." Grinning like a fool, she bowed to the half-drunken patron as he stumbled out.

"_My patience grows thin." Don Karot snarled out. "All you have to do is tell me where that little beast's Prize Card is and you'll be free to go!" The screams, even though muffled, were too powerful to be silenced that easily. "I will not be denied a treasure of that level just because you want to be stubborn!"_

Song of Temarocia; Rainbow Flower Arc

Chapter 21: Saika; The Smiling Captive

A dead silence held over the booth, the kind of thing normally reserved for when two fighters were preparing to battle.

"So I see." Flair emotionlessly stood up. "That is the story."

Ari blinked in surprise as King and Alita stood up at the same time as well. "Wait a moment, what are you going to do?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" King lit up a cigarette and popped his neck. "I'm going to go have dinner with Don Karot. He invited me, after all. It would be rude to turn him down."

"He did?" Alita sourly pursed her lips. "Do you want us to set up an ambush? We can catch him off guard and…"

"No." King blew a plume of smoke into the air and walked towards the exit of the café, not even looking in Saika's direction. "Madame Ari, thank you for taking care of Saika for all this time. She is a very precious member of the Freaks Gang and by no means do I intend to leave her here."

"Well then, what are you going to do?" The sultry woman asked worriedly. "You can't seriously be planning on trying to beat Don Karot in his own casino, can you?"

"I don't, actually." King's declaration came to a surprise to Alita's ears. "Saika hasn't requested our help, which means she wants to deal with this problem on her own."

He continued walking out. "However, Madame Ari, if a loud guy with black hair shows up screaming something about needing food then please direct him to Saika. That's all I ask."

"I understand." She watched the other two stand up and walk out as well. ("I have a feeling like as soon as this person they're waiting for arrives then things will reach a truly fevered pitch.")

----------------------------

_An hour later…_

---------------------------

Amidst the sound of clinking wine glasses and elegant conversations sat Don Karot, waiting patiently in his seat at the head of a long table located in a corner of the finest restaurant his Kingdom had to offer. In the row off to his side sat Revlis, Bronzo, and Gansaku. "Ahhh, here is the guest of honor now."

"A pleasure to see you again, Don Karot." King, dressed in his silk coat and undershirt combination, bowed slightly to the dark-skinned man and sat down directly across from Revlis, meeting eyes with the Rastafarian for a moment before fully sitting down. "You must excuse me, but I brought two friends with me."

"Excellent!" The Warlord of Pleasures clapped his heavily adorned hands together with a clink of metal on metal. "The more the merrier, Mr. King."

Flair bowed slightly and stepped in behind the fake Frenchman, pulling up a chair so he was sitting across from Bronzo. And behind him came Alita, who sat down across from Gansaku. "My name is Flair Tsukimaru, and the young lady behind me is Alita."

"I see." Don Karot smiled pleasantly. "Well it is a great honor to have a samurai and a fine young lady joining our little meeting. Allow me to introduce my associates."

Gansaku stood up and bowed slightly. "My name is Gansaku, head of the hunting services that track down surrounding supplies of food to store here at the Kingdom." His golden hair bounced a little. "I am also a big game hunter, but that is just what I do in my spare time."

Bronzo launched to his feet quickly. "I'm Bronzo, head of Staff. I always keep a good track of time." Then he collapsed into his seat and looked around a little crazily. "Though you people are wasting my time, hurry up and speak faster!"

"I be Revlis, head of security mon." The silver-coated man didn't even bother too get up. "Ya guys had best behave while you're on Don Karot's turf, if ya get mah meanin'."

Don Karot turned to look at King. "Have you enjoyed your time in my establishment so far, Mr. King?"

"Of course." King smiled slightly. "I learned many different interesting things today about your business practices."

"Did you now?" The Warlord laughed. "I see, so you've been doing a bit of detective work on my fine business and myself? To what ends, I ask you?"

"Just different things, here and there." King sat back in his seat. "We're Adventurers, you see. And at the moment we're working hard to get a certain treasure back that we are missing at the moment."

"A treasure, you say?" Don Karot took a sip of his wine. "Might this be something that I possess? I hope you don't intend to try and steal from me, Mr. King." His laughter after this declaration indicated he was joking.

"Of course not, Don Karot." King started laughing as well. ("It was never yours to begin with.")

---------------------

"This is boring," A man in a black suit muttered sadly as he watched the glass doors that led outside. "Why can't we leave this spot? What are we supposed to be looking for here?"

"We're looking for this guy." The other black-suited man adjusted his tie and held up a picture of Jason. "Once we catch him then we'll get a huge promotion, so just shut your mouth and wait. If he shows up then he shouldn't be that hard to take down." Suddenly the ground started shaking. "Hey, do you feel something?"

"Yeah, is it an earthquake?" The guard looked out the glass doors again, and his jaw dropped. "LOOK OUT!"

"FOOD!" Jason, in Stonequill form, exploded right through the doors as if they weren't there. He slammed into the two guards and hurling them backwards into a row of slot machines. After changing back to normal he sniffed the air and broke into a run that lead him deeper into the casino. "I smell food! Where is it?" He broke into a run and started jogging past groups of startled patrons, though he was paying them no mind. "Where's the food? Where where where WHERE?"

--------------------

"That has to be him." Ari smiled slyly and held up a plate of steaming meat she had pilfered from the kitchen. Holding it just outside the entrance to the café, she felt the earthquake getting closer. ("And here he comes.")

Walking inside with the plate resting atop her palm, she placed it down on a booth just as Jason came rushing in and crashed down in front of the plate, tearing into a steak without even bothering to use the utensils that were in front of him.

"You're Jason, correct?" When he nodded absent-mindedly with a huge piece of pork hanging out of his mouth she smiled. "Saika is here. Would you like me to bring her out? You must be worried sick about her."

"Hungry…" He somehow managed to say through a mouth that couldn't hold as much food as he was trying to cram down it. "Finish first!"

"I see." She sat down across from him. "You know that when Don Karot finds out you've entered this place he'll do everything he can to make sure you wind up captured?"

"Who?"

--------------------

Don Karot and King both laughed at the same time and clinked their glasses together. "Cheers!"

"What's the matter?" Bronzo lifted an eyebrow at Flair. "You're just sitting there. Come on and let's celebrate a little. This is a party, right?" He continued to hold his wine glass out in the samurai's face. "Hurry up!"

"I am not in a very festive mood." Flair poured himself a glass regardless, tapping it against the other man's glass before pretending to take a sip of it. ("What are we waiting for? While I do not like the idea of going up against a Warlord, it cannot be helped. After hearing that story I would not dare back down, on my honor as a man. Why is that fishbowl waiting?")

-----------------------

"Thank you very much!" Saika smiled happily to the man as he deposited another ten Tem piece in her hand. "Have a pleasant evening."

"More meat!"

She froze and her heart stopped in her chest. ("That voice…")

Ari smiled slightly as she saw Saika swiftly approaching. ("Ah, here we are. This should be an interesting heartfelt moment of…") All of her expectations flew out the window though as the rainbow-haired girl nearly ran up and slapped Jason as hard across the face as she could. "Saika, that's no way to…"

"What are you doing here?" She shouted at the top of her lungs, bringing all other activity in the café to a halt. "Leave this place right now!" Face contorted in anger, she slapped him hard across the other cheek. "GET OUT!"

Jason ignored her, going right back to his meal.

"I don't need you here!" The girl grabbed the young man's collar and hefted him up a little so she could look him closer in the face. "If you don't leave then Don Karot will come looking for you, and he'll kill you! GET OUT!"

Jason popped another piece of meat into his mouth and washed it down with his third pitcher of water. "Ahhh that hit the spot!" Patting his stomach he stood up to his full height just in time to stumble forward slightly as a gunshot rang out across the little café.

Saika and Ari both gasped in confusion, until they realized that there were at least a dozen black-suited security guards right behind them, the one at the front holding a smoking pistol that he had just fired into Jason's back. "My apologies about the mess, Ari. This guy is on Don Karot's hit list, and the orders are to kill on sight."

"…" Saika stared numbly at Jason's forward-hunched body, her hands still bloodlessly grasping his tunic. ("I tried to tell you…this isn't New York…you can't just do what you normally do and expect to get away with it.")

Even though she was thinking this, for some odd reason she was smiling cheerfully on the outside. ("I can't cry…I can't show that affected me…or else Karot might hurt him more…")

Time sped up suddenly, and Jason sneered coldly. "That won't work…no little flesh wound like that's gonna stop me." He turned and grinned at the dozen pistols aimed at his face, the owners of those guns looking very pale all of a sudden.

"Wha…" The rainbow-haired girl's smile wavered a little. "What are you talking about?"

"Get out of the way, Saika." Jason casually pushed her out of the way at the same time that the dozen guards all opened fire at once, his body flipping over the table and crashing down in the section of the booth where Ari had been sitting up until a moment ago when she moved.

The Head of Staff pulled the unmoving Saika back just a little, a worried look on her face at the fact that Saika was smiling as if there was nothing wrong at all. ("The trauma of seeing that…of seeing her friend gunned down…") She was about to hug Saika tight to try and bring her out of it.

"AH!" Jason exploded free from the fallen over table in his Stonequill Graft and pointed at the slack-jawed guards angrily. "Don't startle me like that; you bastards nearly gave me the hiccups!"

"Wha…what in the…" The guards, all as one, started to stumble backwards. Their nerve was gone after seeing the target take all of those bullets and declare the worst he could get from it was a case of the hiccups.

"I think…" Disappearing in a momentary gust of silver wind, Burst Fox Jason emerged moments later with a wicked smile on his face. "You guys need a little lesson in manners! **Impact Turret!**" His fists became a pair of blurs as he delivered a flurry of air pressure-powered punches into the dozen men, sending them flying through the windows and walls of the café like scattered leaves.

Ari had a look of disbelief on her face, though even through this Saika kept that strange smile.

"Jerks, interrupt my meal time will they?" He marched up to the couple of guards that were actually getting up and punched them in the face, making sure they weren't going to walk away from this for a good while.

"Sheesh," He turned to look at Ari and Saika with a grin on his face. "Can you believe the nerve of those guys? What kind of casino does this Don Karot guy run anyway?"

"I guess the 200,000,000 Tem bounty isn't just for show." Ari sat down in a chair she had pulled up, looking a little pale in the face. "You're a Graftborn?"

"A Grafter, actually." Jason turned to look at Saika, who was still a bit out of it and had that bizarre smile on her face. "What's the matter?" He leaned in towards her and aimed his skull at her, the silver fox ears on his head perking up and wiggling back and forth. "Come on, I know you like fluffy crap like this."

"Jason…" Saika's eyes started watering and tears started streaming down her face even though she was still smiling. "Please run away. I don't want you to die."

"Me, die?" The Grafter grinned as he heard the sound of numerous shoes on tile right outside the café. "Hey Lady, get Sai to cover please."

"You're going to run?" Ari sweatdropped as Jason disappeared outside and things started exploding. "I guess not…"

"He's going to die…" Saika's shoulders slumped as the explosions grew louder.

"I don't see what you're talking about." Ari motioned to the guards littered about the café like pieces of trash. "He just blew through all of these men like they were nothing."

"He's going to die…Don Karot isn't like them at all…not at all…" Saika get smiling, though it was obvious she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

------------------------------------------

Don Karot glanced at the black-suited guard that suddenly ran up to their table. "What?" The man whispered something into his ear and his expression grew somber. "You must excuse me, Mr. King and company, but there is something of an emergency I have to tend to on the bottom floor. Please enjoy the rest of your dinner and your stay here. I was hoping to play a game of Blackjack against you too, but that will have to wait Mr. King."

King nodded slightly as the Warlord of Pleasures stood up. "Don't worry about it, we've all got our priorities right?"

"I thank you for understanding." Don Karot walked off with his three top men in tow. ("It seems that the Grafter does want to be a gentleman in this regard. I will have to teach him that it is rude to smash up someone else's property.")

As soon as the four were out of sight Alita grimaced. "It's Jason, isn't it?"

"More than likely." Flair stood up and adjusted his katana on his belt. "It seems like we're going to have to fight now."

"Nope." King yawned. "We wait until the time is right." He stabbed his fork into a steamed vegetable on his plate and popped it into his mouth, chewing leisurely. "Until that time comes let's sit back and try to relax."

"What are you talking about?" Alita shouted a bit louder than she should have. "We can't sit here and do nothing! That's just ridiculous!"

"Indeed." Flair started pacing. "What do we accomplish by standing around doing nothing while the dog fights for the sake of your friend?"

"Hey," King commented sharply. "Don't spread lies. At the moment, if it is Jason, then he's fighting for the sake of Jason. Saika is the farthest thing from his mind for the time being, so until we get a bit more information about what is going on don't go flying into a half-cocked rage and get us all killed. Eat your vegetables instead and let's finish our meal."

"…" The two sat down quietly and started eating as quickly as they could.

------------------------------

"It'll take a whole lot more than what you've guys got to beat me!" Carrier attached to his arm Burst Fox Jason blew past a trio of guards and they were hurled twenty feet in the air by the pressure of his movement. (1000/1000)

"Get out the shotguns!" A new group of guards emerged from around some of the slot machines armed with the powerful spread-fire weapons.

"Shotguns?" Jason's right eye started twitching. "Why does Temarocia have freaking guns?" Then he disappeared as the ground he was standing on exploded in a spray of tile and dust.

Up on the overlooking balcony Don Karot frowned deeply as he watched his Riot Gun Troops get blown up to eye level with him before they fell in a heap atop their already-defeated comrades. "This is truly frustrating. Why are such weaklings a part of my security force?"

"It cannot be helped, Don Karot." Gansaku polished the barrel of his sniper rifle and lifted it up. "He is a Legendary Class after all. Shall I dispose of him?"

"Not yet." The Warlord rubbed his chin slowly, thinking about this situation. "No, it would be best if I dealt with this problem on my own. According to Kyris the Hell this one defeated Ruerto Masquil the Immortal. That is an opponent that you may have trouble killing in one shot, my fine hunter."

Revlis tightened up his braids. "You don't want me ta go straighten 'im out, Don?"

"No. I wish to try and convince him to calm down." Don Karot's hand clamped onto the railing and he leapt over the edge, dropping the thirty feet to the ground and leaving a small crater in the ground where he landed. "That will be quite enough, Jason-kun!"

"…" Jason glanced at the guard he was currently holding by the collar, and then at the weird gold-dressed guy that had suddenly shown up. "No dice." He punched the guard in the face and turned to face the Warlord. "Who are you anyway, weirdo? You're dressed like a loser pimp."

A silence held over the remaining guards, all of them looking like they were about to start running. Then the silence was broken by the metallic clapping of Don Karot's adorned hands. "Excellent courage, Jason-kun! I must commend on you for being brave enough to insult me."

"You're really freaking weird." The Grafter picked a piece of tiling out of one of his fox ears and yawned, showing off his fangs. "I guess you're this Don Karot guy that everybody is saying is a Warlord. I don't even know what that means though, so please don't brag too much."

"It means that everything you can see in this place is mine." Karot chuckled. "You really do not care about that, do you? My money means nothing to you."

"Yup, exactly right." Jason started pacing in agitation and so that his body didn't start doing random things. "This place stinks something awful too…"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to make that better for you?" Don Karot started pacing as well. "You're doing quite a bit of damage to my property, and that is not something I can let you walk away from. Do you intend to stay and work off the debt you owe me for destroying all of these things?"

"Nope." Jason thumbed to the café. "Plus I'll be taking Saika with me when I leave. Care to stop me?"

"That is unfortunate." The Warlord of Pleasures lifted one hand to reveal the Carrier that appeared there. "I wanted to avoid having to cash in the bounty on your head by having to kill you, but if your current compliance is any indication there is no other choice."

Jason- 8000/5000

Karot- 8000/10000

"Let's see you do it then!" Jason tapped the top of his deck and launched forwards at Don Karot. ("Seven attacks…") Then he twisted on one heel and did a spinning kick that created a tornado around his body. "**Impact Sidewinder!**"

(300/700) Don Karot brought one arm up to block the kick that emerged from that tornado, his muscles on that arm bulging slightly as he was forced into a momentary slide. "You have a good strength behind that kick, Jason-kun!"

"Thanks, but complimenting me won't save you!" The Grafter touched down on the ground and launched forward, his fists becoming a blur of air pressure-powered missiles. "**Impact Turret!**"

Don Karot gasped out as he was hit by the wall of missiles, his face and chest impacting slightly as they were assailed by a storm of hits.

Using the built-up pressure that his body was riding on at the moment, Jason shot forwards and slammed his fists into the Warlord's stomach. "**Double Impact Shot!**"

"Another excellent hit!" Don Karot rolled head over heels backwards into a fountain, shattering it and sending water everywhere.

Jason followed him in, creating another wall of punches that blew right through the flowing water and into the still-moving Warlord. "**Impact Turret!**"

Stopping at the other edge of the fountain, Don Karot stood up slowly and chuckled. "Once more, I am being pushed back by your attacks."

"**Impact Charge!**" Jason snapped his arms up in front of him, a miniature vortex of wind building around his body while he tapped his deck three times. "And for the finish!"

Don Karot smiled pleasantly. ("Ahhh, a finishing move…")

"**Impact Cannon!**" (6000/1000) Jason exploded forwards and crashed his fists into the Warlord's stomach, the explosion of air pressure backlashing both Jason and Don Karot in different directions, one crashing through a wall and into a store and the other quickly following suite.

As the dust cleared the one standing was revealed to be Jason, a crazy grin on his face. "Heh, you're pretty freakin' slow…and not too tough…"

"Not too tough?" Don Karot emerged from the wall he had gone through, brushing some dust off himself. "Perhaps you haven't noticed yet, but take a look at your hands."

"My hands?" The Grafter glanced at his hands and his eyes widened as he realized that they were swollen, all of his fingers dislocated. "Crap that stings a little bit."

"Indeed it should." Don Karot motioned to his score. (300/1700)

Jason- 3800/5000

Karot- 8000/8500

"Then my last attack should have broken your defense, despite however much you must have boosted it by." Jason cracked his last knuckle back into place and he started flexing his hands to get the blood flowing properly again.

"That would be correct, except for that last attack I used my Mercantile Decoy Technique." Don Karot laughed. "This technique lets me pay 500 magic points to reduce one amount of damage to zero, though it also costs me about 1000 Tem. A small pittance to pay to escape such a powerful attack though."

"A merchant class?" Jason scratched the back of his head. "Okay then, that's pretty stupid."

"I thought you might say that, though my Mercantile Defense let me pay any number of Tem and magic points to raise my defense by that amount until the end of the turn, though I didn't expect you to go quite so crazy and continuously attack me despite the fact that your attacks would have no effect or else I would have raised it more." The Warlord sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, it cannot be helped. Tell me, Jason-kun, whether or not you can still believe you can win."

"Obviously I can win if all you've got are sad little defense tricks." The Grafter cracked his knuckles and punched a hole in the still-standing parts of the fountain. "I've got plenty of energy after getting that food in my stomach."

"I would suppose so." Karot tapped the top of his deck. "Then let me ask you, why do you want Saika-chan so badly?"

"Because she's a part of our group." Jason started hopping from leg to leg as he got ready to defend himself. ("I'm holding Graft Metamorphosis so I can easily change to Stonequill and guard myself against his attacks.")

"That's where you are incorrect." Don Karot smiled. "She is mine…in both body and mind. She cannot run from me, or she will die. Do you still wish to take her away?" If the look in the Grafter's eye told him anything then he knew what to expect for his answer. "Very well, then let me show you why I'm far stronger than anything you've experienced up to this point!"

_To be continued…_


	22. Sacrifices

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though.

Gansaku chuckled as he watched Don Karot prepare to attack. "This is the pivotal turning point, the moment where our mighty lord destroys this insolent little boy."

"He's taking too long!" Bronzo jogged by, having decided he was going to run some laps to pass the time.

"It won't be much longer mon." Revlis rested his elbows on the railing overlooking the casino floor. "The Don's about to show that guy why you don't be messin' with a man that lived through a fight with the Warlord of Hell."

Song of Temarocia; Rainbow Flower Arc

Chapter 22: Sacrifices…

"_That's where you are incorrect." Don Karot smiled. "She is mine…in both body and mind. She cannot run from me, or she will die. Do you still wish to take her away?" If the look in the Grafter's eye told him anything then he knew what to expect for his answer. "Very well, then let me show you why I'm far stronger than anything you've experienced up to this point!"_

-----------------------

From their hiding place in the ruined remains of the café Saika clasped her hands together and prayed with all her might. ("This has to be a dream. This has to be a nightmare…") If it wasn't then Jason was dead. Once he had gotten into a fight with Don Karot his fate was decided. There was nothing he could do except struggle now. ("He's too powerful, even if Jason apparently has some kind of super power.")

-------------------------

King placed his fork down on his plate and stood up, wiping his mouth a handkerchief. "Alright, let's be off. Now that we've finished with our dinner we can go see what's going on."

"You're a waste of time, fishbowl." Flair started walking away until he sensed someone about to attack him and turned just in time to block an extremely heavy foot with his sword blade. "You wish to battle?"

A vein bulging out of his forehead, King glared at the samurai. "Anytime, bathrobe."

A loud crack noise echoed across the restaurant and the two of them were suddenly planted face-first on the ground, twitching with huge lumps on their heads. Standing over them was a very angry-looking Alita. "Let's just go see what's going on!"

---------------------------

"Well then," Don Karot removed his gold boa and tossed it to the side. "I am a man of a great many skills, Jason-kun. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Warlord of Hell?"

"You mean Kyris?" The Grafter shrugged. "I've never seen the guy, but…"

"No, I'm speaking of Kyris' father." The lord stretched his boa-holding arm up and the long piece of golden fuzz started glowing. "He was a man amongst the greatest of men, a beast that was said to slay even the mightiest monsters in his spare time. And I was one of his four most trusted assistants, the master of all of his parties and ceremonies."

"So you were a party planner?" Jason rubbed the back of his head, a disbelieving look on his face. "If you're trying to intimidate me then give it a rest. There's no way I'm going to be afraid of a guy that planned parties for a guy that was really ferocious. That just sounds stupid."

"I suppose you're right, but if you underestimate me just based on my class then you'll find yourself dead very quickly! I activate Golden Whip!" The golden boa shimmered and turned molten, becoming a pulsing whip of golden heat. "This item boosts my power by 100 points for every 1000 Tem's worth of riches or property I am surrounded by within a hundred foot radius, as long as it is owned by me of course." (Converted Wealth in range: 600,000,000 Tem Total600000 attack point bonus) (600300/700)

"GOOD LORD!" Jason leapt out of the way just before the molten whip tore the Blackjack table behind him in half. ("I can't possibly block that as Stonequill!") He ran full speed away from the Warlord, eyes wide in instinctive fear and self-preservation.

"I set two Contingencies and end my turn." Don Karot proceeded after the Grafter at a leisurely pace. "I've already made sure that the heavy gates are in place at the only exit, which means that you have no way to escape this place. As long as we're here my wealth is far greater than anything you can possibly bring out to match it."

("He's right!") Jason racked his brain for something he could do with any of his Grafts. ("I could use the Epic…") That idea was shot down fast. ("It would beat this guy, but the risk is way too great.") That left Stonequill, Curse-Eater, Subzero Shark, and Burst Fox. Burst Fox was the strongest out of the four because he knew its command word, with the second best being Subzero Shark, then Curse-Eater, and then Stonequill.

Tapping the top of his deck, Jason growled and was swallowed up in a burst of water. "**Graft Metamorphosis!**" He emerged from it in his Subzero Shark Graft, the blue and white bodysuit glistening in the neon lights of the casino. Tapping his deck once to draw a card for the effect of Graft Metamorphosis, the Grafter prepared to attack. "I activate Cold Poison Bullet, allowing me to attack at range during this turn. Also, I may attack an additional time!" (1600/900)

Don Karot laughed as he saw a pair of glowing balls of white light hurtling towards him. "Oh, you have multiple Grafts? Interesting…but futile!" His arm snapped into the pocket of his suit and he removed a pair of coins. "My Contingency activates, and it is a technique called Finger Bomb Shot! I can sacrifice 200 magic points and 200 Tem to counter any long-range single-target attack during this turn!"

Using his thumb and index finger he fired the two coins off in succession and they collided with the balls, creating an explosion of cool air as the two pieces of currency became encased in blocks of ice.

(1600/900) Jason- 3800/5000

(Current Wealth: 599,999,600) (600200/700) Karot- 8000/8000

("I need to bankrupt this nutball!") Jason turned and kept running. ("I'm not as fast while in Subzero Shark but the ability to create ice will help me counter this guy's whip.")

Don Karot touched the top of his deck and then fished a pair of coins out of his pockets. "I activate another Finger Bomb Shot!" Then he flicked the two coins off in succession, the pieces of money hurtling across the distance between the two of them.

("Crap, it's too fast!") Jason tried to block but only managed to stop the two pieces of currency from blowing holes in his heart instead of simply tearing through his chest violently and throwing him head over heels into a Poker table.

"When used as an attack my Finger Bomb Shot cannot deal more than 1000 points of damage, luckily for you Jason-kun." The Warlord continued his leisurely approach towards the destroyed Poker table.

(1600/900) Jason- 2800/5000

(Current Wealth: 599,999,200) (600200/700) Karot- 8000/7800

The splintered remains of the table shuddered and Jason stood up from it, blood dripping down his chest slowly. "Draw." Tapping the top of his deck, he grew a slight smile at what card it was. "Come and get me. I set one Contingency and end my turn."

Tapping the top of his deck, Don Karot chuckled. "You're trying to set me up for a trap, or else you would still be running." Removing a small jeweled monocle from his pocket, he placed it over his right eye. "I activate the item card True Sight Monocle, allowing me to look at your hand and all Contingencies set on your field." With that done he pocketed the piece of eyewear and cracked his whip a couple of times. "That's it? And here I thought it was something I couldn't counter."

"Ack, he saw through my cleverly hidden trap!" Jason stiffened and slapped his own face. "Why I am telling him he saw through my cleverly hidden trap?"

"Perhaps because it wasn't cleverly hidden?" The Warlord walked up to the Grafter slowly, a strange icy glyph at his feet melting as soon as he was within range of it. "I activate the effect of Bribery. This spell card lets me negate any Contingency at the cost of 3000 Tem and 400 magic points."

(1600/900) Jason- 2800/5000

(Current Wealth: 599,996,200) (599900/700) Karot- 8000/7400

"Crap!" Jason leapt backwards while the Golden Whip barely missed his face, searing a little cut into his cheek. ("This is really bad. At this rate he's going to hit me with that and when that happens I'll be done.")

"Wouldn't it be wiser for you to surrender, Jason-kun?" Don Karot cracked his whip against the ground, leaving a pair of smoldering cuts in the earth. "You have yet to injure me, and all it will take from me is one hit to end this duel."

"Then hurry up and hit me, because I'm not giving up!" The Grafter turned and ran again, tapping the top of his deck. ("It's another Graft Metamorphosis. If I use it then which Graft should I switch to? It's either Curse-Eater or Stonequill, and while the former is immune to fire it doesn't seem to have any special powers beyond that. If he uses that one stupid coin trick while I'm in that form I'll be blown in half.") "End turn!"

The Warlord touched the top of his deck, calmly waiting for Jason to run into one of the many dead ends the casino lead to. "Eventually you'll run out of places to go, Jason-kun. Why not stand and fight before that time comes to pass so at least those who witnessed your last fight could say that you fought with some honor, instead of like a frightened child?"

"Because this fight isn't over yet!" There was no answer in sight, but Jason wasn't going to stop fighting just because he didn't have an answer immediately. ("Something will come in time; I just have to wait this guy out.")

"Revlis!" Don Karot tilted his head up to the balcony overlooking his current position. "Bring dear little Saika to me, if you please."

"You got it boss." The head of security headed off in the opposite direction the two fighters were moving.

---------------------------

King walked amongst the demolished remains of the area Jason and Don Karot had battled earlier casually, his cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth as he took in all of the devastation. "It seems that we missed the party."

"This isn't the time to joke!" Alita motioned deeper into the casino. "They're down that way; we have to go help Jason!"

"It's suicide." Flair frowned, able to easily feel the waves of sickening energy emitting from the air around them. "In this place that Don Karot is far too powerful to be defeated. He is a War Merchant, a deadly class that becomes stronger when surrounded by their own wealth. And considering the nature of this place…"

"His power is way above anything that Jason can cook up." King sighed sadly. "That poor dope is going to get himself killed at this rate. We have to find Saika and get an escape route ready. This isn't a fight we can win."

"I thought as much." A voice from behind them said. They all turned at once to meet eyes with Revlis, who was wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses that matched the pairs worn by the black-suited guards who stood in a half-circle behind and around him. "You three are accomplices of the Grafter?"

"That would be correct." Flair had no more intention to run or pretend he was something he wasn't. "I am Flair Tsukimaru, guardian of the Mudeian princess Alita Meijer."

"I am Alita Meijer." The blond-haired magician snapped her staff up, the green crystal at the end glowing with energy. "We're taking Saika with us."

"I'm afraid that ain't gonna be happenin', mon." Revlis removed his sunglasses and clicked them closed before shoving them into his coat pocket. "I'm gonna beat the lot of ya down before that happens."

"We win!" King grinned, already standing next to Saika and Ari inside the café. "Sorry Marley, but we're taking her with us and there isn't a thing you can do to stop us."

"Is that so?" Gansaku lifted up his handgun slowly and aimed it at Saika's head, which wasn't hard considering he was standing right next to her.

("When did he…") King started to turn to slam his foot up the gunner's nose…

"**Cyclone Spinner!**" An explosion of spinning air slammed into the fake Frenchman from behind and hurled him through wall after wall of the café and then of the casino.

"Very nicely done Bronzo." Gansaku lifted up the rainbow-haired girl's chin with his pistol gently, smirking at the terrified look in her eyes. "And through it all you continue to smile…I suppose it makes sense though, since you're trying to fight off the fear that is threatening to overwhelm you."

Saika squeezed her eyes shut. ("Why won't they just give up on me and run?")

"Hurry up and let's get this other with!" The bronze-coated man grimaced angrily down at Saika. "Oh, he wanted this one again? Isn't he busy fighting though? Why would he want to torture her now?"

Ari narrowed her eyes and stood up, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly. "I won't let you do this, Gansaku!"

"Excuse my rudeness, but I don't think there is much you can do to stop us Head of Staff." The hunter bowed slightly. "And this is a direct order from Don Karot, we would be fools to let your order stop us."

"That's right!" Bronzo yanked Saika to her feet. "Come on, slow girl, we're taking you to see the Don. He's got a couple of things he wants to talk to you about."

"I said you're not taking her!" Ari grabbed a nearby chair and broke it over the bronze-coated man's back.

Shaking off the hit, Bronzo flicked his fingers and the woman was hurled backwards through the air by an unseen force. "Why are you standing up for this girl anyway, Ari? It ain't like she owes you money or anything." Then he started heading towards the location where the most noise was coming from, Saika in tow and the rainbow-haired girl offering little resistance.

"Hold it!" Flair was about to intervene but he was forced back as a pair of booted feet nearly took his head off.

"Hang on there, mon." Revlis landed in between the samurai and the other two subordinates. "Ya gotta play with me and my Kick-Fu first."

("Another foot expert huh?") Sheathing his katana, Flair prepared to flash through the annoyance and stop this before it got out of hand. ("If Don Karot uses her as a hostage then the dog will surely let himself get killed. I can't let that happen!")

---------------------

Jason gasped out in surprise and barely avoided another slashed from the Golden Whip. ("I'm running out of room!") He was running low on avenues of escape. There was only so much more room to move around in now and Don Karot's attacks were too quick to avoid while moving around the Warlord. ("He's boxing me in and I can't do anything about it!")

"I think that is enough, Jason-kun." Don Karot reeled in his whip as he heard a trio of approaching footsteps. "Ah yes, here is Saika-chan now. You wanted to take her with you, correct?"

Lowering his guard ever so slightly, the Grafter nodded. "Yeah. What do you want out of it?"

"I simply want a little something that I know she has." The Warlord smiled cheerfully as both Gansaku and Bronzo came up from behind him with the weakly-smiling Saika. "My dear Saika-chan, this is the chance you've been waiting for. You know I have no use for you other than your mediocre skills as a waitress, so this is your big chance to leave. All you have to tell me is where the Prize Card of the Mirror Wildcat is and you're…"

"I'm sorry," The girl muttered out through her smiling lips. "I can't tell you where it is, Don Karot-sama."

"I see." The Warlord's eyes were shadowed, though the veins bulging out of his bald forehead could easily tell what his mood currently was. "Then it seems I have no choice. I'm going to kill your friend in front of your eyes." His boa started to glow molten again. "It seems that she values the money she could make from the monster's Prize Card more than she values your life, Jason-kun."

The Grafter was silent…and then he was swallowed up in a burst of water. When it cleared he was back to normal. His expression was rather relaxed, as if nothing was wrong. "Is whatever this is important to you, Sai?"

A strange silence held over the casino, even the clinking of the machines that were somehow still active growing quiet.

-----------------------------

"Damn mon, you suck." Revlis kicked the unmoving body of Flair a couple of times. "There ain't no way you're ever gonna beat me if that's the best you can do." He looked over at the unconscious form of Alita. "How many of you boys did she manage to take down?"

"About half of the five dozen we had in reserve…" The guard speaking clutched his right elbow, which was streaming blood because of a wound she had inflicted on him.

"Take 'em both to the jail room. We'll let the Don decide what to do with 'em." Turning away, he walked over to the hole that had been made by King's body. "As for you, Mr. King, it seems that your time as a gentleman is over. As for your buddy…" He snickered and thumbed towards the other end of the casino. "Well we'll just see where it goes, huh?"

-----------------------------

"Why did he turn off his Graft?" Feather nearly launched forwards and out of the hiding place that currently rendered her and Wing completely undetectable through any means. "Without it his less than one percent chance of victory…"

"It's zero." The man adjusted his hat and sighed. "Before you go charging in there like a madwoman though, let me ask you whether or not this is what you would expect of a the guy who is the son of the one man who ever managed to sway your heart away from the path of justice, even if it was just for a moment."

"…" The armored woman stepped back against the wall again, eyes closed. "Wing, will everything be alright? Will he really win?"

"He'd better, or else…"

---------------------------------

Tears streaming down her face, the girl nodded weakly while still somehow managing to smile. "Yes…I made a promise…"

Jason smiled back, though his actually seemed realistic compared to hers. "That's cool."

Saika's eyes widened slightly in confusion at that smile, her tears starting to stem. ("He's got a plan…he's got a way to get us out…")

"Later." Jason's smile faded as Don Karot's Golden Whip exploded straight through his chest, burning a hole in his heart. His body stumbled slightly, and then collapsed to the ground lifelessly. The only sound coming from it was the sound of the smoldering leather of his tunic around the hole in his back…that and the smell of charred flesh which permeated the air left no doubt in the minds of anyone watching. That attack had ended it.

(1600/900) Jason- 0/0

(Current Wealth: 599,996,200) (599900/700) Karot- 8000/7400

"Ja…" Saika's eyes slowly closed and she bit her lower lip as hard as she could, drawing a line of blood from it.

---------------------------

"No…" Feather's eyes were trembling, and her mouth was having trouble remaining still. "That…that can't be how it ends…"

Wing was silent, his hat over his eyes. ("It's over then. I guess we either had the wrong guy, or if we had the right guy then he didn't have what it took.") A low sigh left his lips. "I suppose we should leave…"

"You're kidding me!" She turned and glared at him, hand on the hilt of the sword hanging at her side. "Drop the cover; I'm going to kill that golden freak of…"

"Sorry." Wing tipped his hat a little lower to hide the tears sliding down his face. "I can't do that…"

-------------------------------

"Hurry up and transport…" Revlis turned when some of the guards gasped, a similar look of disbelief on his face. "What in the…"

Flair was standing, his arms shakily holding the hilt of his katana.

"It seems I gotta beat some more sense into ya!" The silver-coated man launched forwards, preparing to strike the real finishing blow.

---------------------------------

She felt it. She felt his heart stop…she felt his energy fade…and there was nothing she could do about it. ("Again,") Alita Meijer thought through her tears as she lay collapsed on the ground. ("I can't protect those I care about…")

-----------------------------------

"_Au revoir, mon meilleur ami_." King whispered this out as he started to climb out of the hole his body had created, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "_Pas l'inquiétude, je donnerai un coup de pied leurs ânes dans votre place._ See you on the other side…"

------------------------------------

Don Karot started chuckling at the look on Saika's face. "Even now you still manage to smile? It's fine though," He smirked. "I'll just start chopping down those employees here who have treated you well? How does that sound?"

"I'm sorry, Don Karot-sama…" The rainbow-haired girl whimpered out, still managing to smile despite the breaking of her voice. "I can't tell you where it is…"

_To be continued…_


	23. Luck of the Gods

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh GX.

"It was a pain," A voice said as it kicked the lever attached to the safe in front of it open. "But in the end the guy suffering the most because of this will be you, Don Karot."

A pair of hands quickly went to work installing the device given to them. "When it's all done and said, you're going to be very angry."

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 23: Luck of the Gods

"_It seems I gotta beat some more sense into ya!" The silver-coated man launched forwards, preparing to strike the real finishing blow._

Flair's eyes suddenly came back into focus. ("I didn't want to have to waste it on a low-level henchman like this, but it seems I have no choice.") He sheathed his sword and prepared to use that move, the one he hadn't wanted to use until his opponent was at least a Warlord level enemy.

Revlis snapped his leg up, preparing to drop his heel down on the back of Flair's head and end him immediately. "This be it!"

"Not quite." Another leg intervened and kicked the Rastafarian right between the legs with a sickening crack.

Flair winced noticeably. "Was that necessary?"

King lowered his leg slowly, slamming it down the last couple of inches and cracking the tile at his feet with the weight of his Iron Cotton Shoes. "Probably not, but considering what would have happened had he successfully hit you with his leg I think you'd prefer this outcome over the other."

Revlis, still stuck with his right leg high above his head, pitched backwards and crashed back-first into the ground like a tree that been cut at the trunk. "That…ain't cool…mon…"

"Yup, sorry about that." Lighting up another cigarette, the fake Frenchman turned on one heel to look in the direction where the other two had gone. "So, what should we do now?"

"We must retrieve Alita and retreat." The samurai glanced in the direction that led to the stairs. "We must hurry after her, come on!"

"Run or fight, huh?" King smiled slightly and fished something out of his pocket. "We either go after my angel or we take out the guys who actually are a threat to her. Those losers in the suits can't hurt the girl who has taken my heart, but their boss and his little minions can."

"What are you talking about? Alita is still mortal, unlike you two freaks of nature! We have to make sure they don't use her as a…" Flair stopped as he realized that King was walking towards a slot machine. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to do a little bit of gambling." Pulling a card out of his pocket, the fake Frenchman inserted it into the machine. "Cards to store your winnings until you decide to cash them out, huh? That's a pretty smart idea, Don Karot."

"What are you doing?" The samurai drew his katana. "Do you want me to cut you in half?"

"Hush a second; I'm going to see just how lucky we are right now." Brushing back a piece of his hair, King held up the five Tem piece he had originally won with. "It's all riding on you, baby. Are you going to show me heaven or hell?" Then he dropped it into the machine and pulled back the lever.

----------------------------

"It's in place, finally." The pair of hands reached up and wiped some sweat from a very exasperated-looking brow. "I hate this mechanical stuff, why do I have to be the one to install this machine? Oh well, at least it's in place now and…" A low hum came from the circuitry in front of her. "Lady Luck is about to have a heart attack…"

-----------------------------

"_Later." Jason's smile faded as Don Karot's Golden Whip exploded straight through his chest, burning a hole in his heart. His body stumbled slightly, and then collapsed to the ground lifelessly. The only sound coming from it was the sound of the smoldering leather of his tunic around the hole in his back…that and the smell of charred flesh which permeated the air left no doubt in the minds of anyone watching. That attack had ended it._

_(1600/900) Jason- 0/0 _

_(Current Wealth: 599,996,200) (599900/700) Karot- 8000/7400_

"_Ja…" Saika's eyes slowly closed and she bit her lower lip as hard as she could, drawing a line of blood from it._

_Don Karot started chuckling at the look on Saika's face. "Even now you still manage to smile? It's fine though," He smirked. "I'll just start chopping down those employees here who have treated you well? How does that sound?"_

"_I'm sorry, Don Karot-sama…" The rainbow-haired girl whimpered out, still managing to smile despite the breaking of her voice. "I can't tell you where it is…"_

"Then I have no choice but to go to the torture room again." The Warlord started to walk away with her neck grasped in his hand. "Are you sure you want to continue this pointless fight against me? It would all end if you just gave up the location of the little feline's Prize Card. I know you know where it is. Why not just tell me and get it over with?"

Saika felt it. She remembered what Jason had once called it. It was the five levels of suffering… ("Jason...I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough alone to fight this. Somewhere deep in my heart I knew you would come and that with your arrival I would find strength...") Where was that strength then? Why did she feel nothing but despair? "If I tell you, then will you let the others involved in this go?"

"But of course. None of your lives are worth 1,000,000,000 Tem to me, so of course I'll be willing to let you and your friends go." Don Karot smiled cheerfully. "Now chin up, Saika-chan, and tell me where it is."

("I'm sorry, Shiny Kitty-san…") Saika's mouth started to open.

"B…Boss…" Bronzo twitched a couple of times and shakily lifted one hand to point away from them. "The Tree Sprite…"

"What are you jabbering about Bronzo?" The Warlord turned…and his eyes grew wide. "What kind of joke is this?"

Jason was standing again, the hole in his heart still smoldering.

Gansaku loaded his rifle. "I'll put him down for good, Don Karot."

"Hang on a second, my eager friend. Don't bother wasting your bullets; regardless of whatever willpower is somehow keeping him standing he is already dead." Karot released Saika. "Gansaku, cover her for a moment. I'll end this." His boa started to glow gold. "Jason-kun, fall down and die like a good boy please."

Saika covered her mouth with her hand as she realized that Jason was mouthing something, his shadowed eyes not even needed to be seen to show he was angry. "Jason…" She removed her hand from her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs. "RUN!"

--------------------------

"_You stupid kid!" A strong laugh echoed across the orange-lit room, the flickering shadows on the wall caused by the burning flames giving the scene an appearance as if it was happening in hell. "I can't believe you actually listened to me! What kind of idiot would so blindly believe what I'd say?"_

_The smell of the gunpowder…the shine of the revolver's barrel as it reflected the flames which were swallowing up the drapes, the bed covers, and the heart-shaped loveseats…it was so dream-like. And yet the only thing that wasn't dream-like was the one thing that surpassed what it should have been. There were no words to truly describe what it was like. _

_A slow sneer crossed the shadowed face; the only thing about it discernable was that it was a man's. "This is the reality of the world. Those who follow heroes because they believe them to be infallible are those that suffer this fate more than anyone else. You believed that I was here to help you, didn't you? You stupid little shit…just like that foul-smelling whore you just 'put out of her misery' for me…both of you were so stupid to the very last."_

_("Is this reality?") He asked himself quietly. ("Is this the world that I live in? I can't trust in anyone…even someone like this guy? If I can't trust him, who can I trust?")_

"_What will you do now? Are you going to wipe up your tears and take revenge on me? Or maybe you'll kill yourself in some kind of symbolic method of payback? Come on, Jason, why don't you tell me what you intend to do to make the pain go away?"_

_The blood pooled around his knees, staining his jeans. In it he could see himself, a look on his face that surpassed anything he could understand. "There are five levels of suffering…"_

"_Eh?"_

"_Physical pain, Mortal pain, Emotional pain, Dream pain…and the final is the one I intend for you." This was where the memory differed from the reality. This was what he had been thinking in his head when he looked back on those moments, when he had one last chance to say something… "Divine pain, the moment when your world comes crashing down. It lasts only a moment because no one could survive two. Nothing is immune to it, because it is all-powerful. When you have experienced it once, you will never be the same again. For better or worse, you will become a man who has surpassed the limits of suffering. That is what you taught me, and that is what I'll teach you back, you bastard." Had he been a stronger man with a stronger resolve, perhaps it would have gone that way. Unfortunately though, humans are fragile creatures. Even when their worlds are crumbling around them, they will cling to the last vestiges of what they believe to be the sanest reality…_

"_I'm sorry…dad…"_

…_even if it is the reality of the devil._

_----------------------------_

"Don't worry about me! This isn't a fight you can win! Please…" Saika stopped as Jason suddenly made a very familiar motion to her.

"That's rather rude of you to do to a lady." Don Karot cracked his Golden Whip against the ground a couple of times, burning gashes into the tile. "Perhaps I'll have to beat this last little bit of life out of you, eh Jason-kun?"

Lowering his right hand's middle finger, Jason cracked his knuckles a couple of times and started stretching his legs with his eyes still shadowed. "Saika, what level? What level were you on the verge of feeling?"

"Wha…" The girl was about to ask what he was talking about.

"I'd say it was somewhere in the realm of three or four, wouldn't you say?" Stretching his legs a little more, the Grafter tilted his shadowed gaze in the girl's direction. "Come on, this ain't a freakin' pop quiz question. Just tell me."

"I guess…about four?" Saika didn't know how to react right now, her tears stopped just around the edges of her eyes as she hovered somewhere in between sadness and confusion.

"You big baby, that's a three at most." His eyes were suddenly tilted up enough to be illuminated. The emotion behind them was playful. "If it was a four then this guy would actually be of consequence."

-------------

Wing nearly facefell. "What did he just say?"

Feather started laughing helplessly. "There's no arguing it, that's his son alright…"

-------------

Don Karot's right eyebrow started twitching. "Did you just say I was of no consequence, Jason-kun?"

"Yup, that I did." The young man stood up to his full height. "Wow, I feel really weird…" His head tilted to look down at his chest and his eyes bulged out of his skull. "AHH! I've been pierced through the heart!"

"You're kind of slow, aren't you?" The question was posed by both Bronzo and Gansaku.

"I'm still not sure how you're alive, but it's no matter." Don Karot started to approach. "Though I am still curious why you are going this far for her. Do you want the Mirror Wildcat's Prize Card that much, Jason-kun?"

"…Heh…" Jason turned to look at Saika. "Yo Sai, wasn't your dream to be a great veterinarian? Ain't that why you worked so hard to develop trust with animals?"

"…my dream?" The rainbow-haired girl remembered it now. She remembered what Jason had once said to her. "Jason…" She started tearing up again. "Please help me beat down this guy for trying to kill an animal out of greed…okay?"

"It's settled then." The Grafter licked his lips and pointed at the Warlord. "I'm going to kick your ass for making a member of my gang cry. It'll be a level four pain, so by the end of it expect your dreams to be crushed like dirt too."

"Crush my dreams, you say?" Don Karot started laughing heartily. "Jason-kun, even though I know you are a capable young man I'm sure you must understand that the dreams of one as grand as I are far beyond anything you could comprehend, much less destroy."

"Your money, your casino, and your ass. I'm taking the first, destroying the second and kicking the third, and by the time that's done so will you…permanently." Jason smiled confidently. "You started this, Don Karot, and now I'm going to finish it. Prepare yourself."

"Those are pretty brave words, considering the situation." Gansaku casually rested the barrel of his pistol against Saika's throat. "Do you understand that this girl is our hostage?"

"Hostage?" Jason frowned. "Goldielocks, take your gun away from her throat this instant before you wind up getting messed up…"

"Oh really?" The hunter lifted an eyebrow. "And just who is going to 'mess me up' as you so eloquently put it? You?"

"No." A female voice said from behind the man as the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against his neck. "That would be me. Drop the gun and step forward."

"So that's where you were." Jason snickered. "Aren't you being a little slow, Kim? Normally you wouldn't have taken this long."

"Shut up," The speaker was a girl wearing a large duster over her head and a long dusty brown cloak around her body. "It's not my fault that I had to do a couple of things before I could come down here and bail you two out of this."

Gansaku lowered his gun and stepped forward, feeling Saika get pulled away from him. "Don Karot?"

"Pursue them the moment you can. And until then…" The Warlord lifted up his right hand slowly. "While it was brave of you to request for help right in front of my eyes, Saika-chan, did you forget what I could so easily do to you? Will the weight you've taken off your shoulders by saying what you said make things better once I've killed you?"

"Oh yes, that's right…" Gansaku snickered. "That little girl has gold in her bloodstream. It's only a small amount, but the Don has the ability to superheat those gold flakes and boil her internally if he so wished. That's why she can never run. It's a shame you forgot about that, eh?"

"I didn't forget." Saika whispered defiantly before lifting her head to glare at the hunter. "I just won't let myself be bullied anymore! With my friends help I'll stop you!"

"Is that so?" Don Karot's right hand started to glow molten. "Then let me reward your bravery with death."

Saika dropped to her knees, gritting her teeth as her skin started to glow red. "I…" She stood back up. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"You don't have to be afraid of me to die, Saika-chan!" The Warlord's glowing hand started to squeeze closed. "Die…"

"Age before beauty," Jason said, a grin on his face. "As for weight…I think you just helped me figure something out." Cracking his knuckles he charged at Don Karot with his fist cocked back to strike.

"Oh no you don't, ya weirdo Tree Sprite!" Bronzo leapt in between the two men, his right hand starting to twist. "**Cyclone…**"

"**Wind Arts; Spinning Cutter!**" A twirling crescent of wind energy struck the spot where the bronze-coated man had been standing up until he had just barely threw himself out of the way. "Sorry I'm late Jason! Flair was rather slow in rescuing me!"

"It's not my fault that the stupid fishbowl wanted to gamble all of a sudden!" The samurai landed between Gansaku and the two girls. "The two of you get out of here. We'll…" He was floored as a boot crashed into the back of his head and crushed his face into the floor roughly.

"What kind of a crap is that?" Kim ground her heel into the back of Flair's head angrily. "I'm not running and I doubt that Saika is either!"

The rainbow-haired girl rubbed the back of her head nervously, the pain having disappeared. "Huh, why aren't I hurting anymore?"

------------------------------

Feather calmly lowered her hand and opened it to reveal the ball of condensed gold sitting there. "A Paladin helps all those in need, correct? And we didn't help the boy except that make sure he could fight fairly, right?"

"I didn't see anything," Wing whistled innocently, looking the other direction while she tossed the golden ball away.

---------------------------------

"Don't worry about it Alita, we're just getting started. I would like to introduce Kimberly Orguss though." The Grafter glanced behind him and grinned at the female magician. "She's a bit gun-crazy, so watch out."

"Who's the blond, Jason?" Tilting up her duster a little bit, Kim smirked slyly. "Is she more your type?"

"Psh, my type wouldn't be as nice as Alita, but that's a different story." The black-haired young man winked. "This is Alita, the sixth member of the Freaks Gang. You got a problem with that?"

"If she lives through this fight then we'll find out if I have any problems with it or not." Twirling her revolver around on one finger, Kim holstered the weapon underneath her cloak and lowered her duster.

"It seems that we're going to be rather busy cleaning some pests out of the casino." Don Karot brought his attention onto Jason. "It's time to kill this annoying cockroach by crushing the head!"

The Grafter was swallowed up in a blast of dirt and emerged from it in his Stonequill Graft. "Watch where you put those feet, Don Karot. It won't be my fault if you wind up losing a leg."

_To be continued…_


	24. Casino Golden Battle

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 24: Casino Golden Battle; The Gun Priestess and Shadow Swordsman

"_It seems that we're going to be rather busy cleaning some pests out of the casino." Don Karot brought his attention onto Jason. "It's time to kill this annoying cockroach by crushing the head!"_

_The Grafter was swallowed up in a blast of dirt and emerged from it in his Stonequill Graft. "You'd better watch where you put those feet, Don Karot. It won't be my fault if you wind up losing a leg."_

Kim lifted her eyebrows at Jason's appearance, pushing up the tip of her duster so she could look at him clearly. "Hey, why do you look like some kind of weirdo porcupine?"

"This?" Jason laughed and waved one hand dismissively. "Don't worry too much about it. I'll explain everything after I crush this guy's dreams."

"I doubt that will be happening." Don Karot lifted up his still-molten right hand. "Even now dear Saika-chan is suffering, and here you all are chattering away like a bunch of mice."

"Actually," Saika asked as she got into the conversation between Kim and Jason, causing the Warlord to stare at her in amazement. "I was kind of wondering what kind of animal you are right now, Jason."

"It's called a Stonequill." Alita threw in proudly, seeming to magically appear alongside the other two girls. "It's a docile creature that exists in rocky mountain areas in this country. They are known for their amazing defense power. They can even stop the falling landslides from the mountains they live around without taking any damage."

"Really?" Saika clapped her hands together in amazement. "That's so cool!"

"Isn't it though?" Alita opened her giant tome and flipped to a certain page in it. "They can do stuff like that because they weigh over fifty tons. See, aren't they cute little tanks of destruction?"

"Yeah!" The Rainbow-haired girl waved at the Grafter and started cheering. "You're cute Jason, just like the super-cute Porcupine Stonequill!"

After listening to Saika go on and on about how cute he was for ten seconds, the Grafter tilted his head over to look at the one that had chosen what Prize Cards he had received before he had entered the Refinery and narrowed his eyes. "…Hey Alita. Did you choose all of my Prize Cards before I walked into that Refinery?"

The blond-haired girl froze up at the dangerous tone in the Grafter's voice and she started sweating nervously. "Well…I chose Stonequill and Burst Fox, while Flair chose Curse-Eater and Subzero Shark. Why?"

"On what basis did you choose them, might I ask?" His right eye was twitching now.

"On the basis of exceptional abilities and how cute they were." The blond-haired girl gulped as the witching of his right eye picked up in pace. "Why, what's the matter with that? I didn't know that you were somehow going to absorb all five of them so I made sure that if you got one of the ones I picked that you would look cute."

("I guess it can't be helped.") The Grafter sighed in frustration before bringing his attention back to the very confused-looking Warlord of Pleasures. "What's your problem?"

The bronze-skinned man looked down at his hand, and then up at Saika. He repeated this action a couple of times before his right hand stopped glowing and he slapped his cheeks in horror. "Not Excellent! Why is she immune to my torture technique?"

"You're a bit slow too," Kim and Alita added in from the side.

"Don't worry, Don Karot," Gansaku snapped up a pair of pistols he had removed from his coat, aiming them at Saika's face. "I'll deal with the problem!"

"No you fool!" The Warlord gasped right before the hunter pulled the triggers of his weapons, sending a pair of bullets right at the rainbow-haired girl. "If she dies then I'll never find out the location of the Mirror Wildcat's Prize Card!"

"Then she won't die." Flair slashed the two bullets in half, the pieces hurtling past the girls and pounding through random objects in the distance. "You should be more careful with your toys, little…" His eyes started watering and he went silent.

"Huh?" Alita leaned in and poked the samurai's side, watching him instantly crumple to the floor. "Oh that's right, you got beat up pretty bad by that one guy with the dreadlocks, didn't you? That reminds me, where is King right now?"

"Alita, could you please help me up?" The samurai grumbled this out, because at the moment he was having trouble moving.

"What the hell, King's here too?" Kim looked around angrily. "Why wasn't he helping our dearest Saika-chan in her hour of need?"

"It's okay Kim-san, really…" Saika tried to assuage the girl's rage, but it didn't seem to be working.

"Could SOMEONE give me a little bit of help please?" Flair started waving his sheathed sword around to try and bump one of the girl's into action, as they seemed to be having more fun talking to each rather than assisting him.

Jason rubbed the back of his head with a clawed hand. "Wow, the tension in the air is gone."

"Indeed." Don Karot watched the three girls talk with his right eye twitching. "They seem to forgotten that we're in the middle of an important battle."

"By the way," Kim muttered dangerously. "Why are you dressed like that Saika?" She poked the girl's side for emphasis. "That fishbowl-headed Casanova had better not have anything to do with that or else he just forfeited his life."

"No," Saika blushed and turned away, fiddling with her hair nervously under the other girl's cold glare. "I was working here as a waitress, and this is the normal uniform for the female staff."

During all of this Bronzo had been standing alongside Don Karot and tapping his foot against the ground at a crazy tempo. Finally he stamped his foot down and pointed at the three girls. "Quit wasting my time! If we're going to fight then let's fight!" His foot left the ground and the rest of him followed within a twirling current of air as he rocketed towards Saika. "I'll be taking the Boss's ticket to riches back, thank you!"

His hand got inches from Saika's skin before suddenly he was staring down the barrel of a revolver. "I don't think you have any say in the matter, scum." Kim pulled the trigger, not at all surprised as the bronze-coated man twisted himself in mid-air and got out of the way before the bullet fired itself past him.

"You're in the way, Gunner!" Bronzo's right hand started to twist and a current of wind charged up around his arm. "**Cyclone Spinner!**" His hand flicked and the current exploded forwards like a drill, tearing a hole in the girl's brown cloak.

Kim smiled slightly, her body contoured so that the burst of wind blew through fabric only. "And you're in my way, Magician." Her hand moved quickly, spinning her revolver around by the trigger guard and pistol-whipping the man across the face forcefully with the butt of her gun.

"You're trying to knock me away?" He asked as his head twisted away from hers. "It won't work against me. And you're wrong, I'm not a Magician." All of a sudden he was moving in the opposite direction he should have, using the momentum to crash his right fist into her cheek.

Kim skidded back a couple of feet, her left hand in front of her face and holding the bent remains of her revolver that she had used to block the crushing blow. "You're right; a Magician wouldn't have that kind of punching power." She tossed the ruined weapon away. "You're a Graftborn, aren't you?"

"That's right." Hovering in the air for a moment while he straightened himself out, the bronze-coated man touched his feet down onto the ground and adjusted his glasses. "I bonded with a Wild Fusion called a Tornado Ferret. It lets me control the wind currents around my body, so there's no way your bullets are going to touch me."

"A Tornado Ferret?" Alita flipped open her tome and ran her fingers through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. "That would explain how you twisted through the air like that. Tornado Ferrets are from the same family of animal that Burst Foxes come from. They possess incredible speed and the power to create wind currents around themselves."

"Who cares what it's called." Kim swept back the folds of her cloak to reveal her Carrier. "I'll show you that there isn't a thing in this world that I can't shoot."

"A Gunner against a Graftborn with the ability to control air currents?" Don Karot started laughing. "This will be no contest." He looked over at Gansaku. "Go get Saika-chan and…" His eyes bugged out of his head as he realized that Flair, Alita, and Saika had all disappeared. "Where did they go?"

"Don't worry, Don Karot." The hunter picked up his rifle from where he had placed it. "I'll catch them."

"I'm counting on you." The Warlord turned to look at Jason. "So tell me, Jason-kun, do you think you can win in a fight against a War Merchant when they are surrounded by their riches? It is a task that even the mightiest Adventurers know not to attempt."

"Whether or not you're surrounded by your greed, it doesn't make a difference in the end." The Grafter's heavy tail slammed into the ground at his feet, creating a little earthquake throughout the surrounding area. "I'll still crush your dreams."

------------------------------

(1300/600) Kim- 8000/13000

(800/1200) Bronzo- 8000/18000

Kim glanced to her left and the form of Gansaku as he chased after the others. ("It seems I'm going to have to take this guy seriously. If I play around too much then Saika could wind up injured. That Alita girl looks like she can handle herself, but I've already seen how that curly-haired guy handled his guns. He was a pro.") "Shall we begin?" She tapped the top of her deck six times.

"Oh yeah, I've been waiting for a chance to stretch my legs." Bronzo tapped the top of his deck five times. "Trust me, lady; regardless of how skilled you might be at aiming with your gun you won't hit me. Not unless you can control the bullet after it leaves the chamber."

"Unfortunately I can't do such a thing." Kim pulled another revolver out from under the folds of her body-covering cloak, swinging the cylinder open and checking to make sure it was loaded. (+400 attack points) "In fact I did a lot of fighting on my way to this place. Some of those monsters took way too many bullets from me. All I've got left are the six shots in this revolver."

"Is that so?" Bronzo held up a finger and wagged it at her disapprovingly. "You aren't going to declare that you'll beat me in those six shots, will you?"

"You look a little too strong for that." She suddenly ran at him, leaping up into the air over his head and aiming at the center of the top of his skull. "One!" Her finger tightened around the trigger and she squeezed off one round, the bullet flying out of the barrel and deflecting right before it hit the bronze-coated man's head, blowing a hole in the ground.

"If you know that then why did you just waste your attack?" Bronzo tapped the top of his deck and then pressed his hands against the ground. "**Cyclone Upwind!**" A powerful current roared to life and pushed the Gunner dozens of feet into the air, tearing little pieces of her cloak away. "You guarded against it so the damage to your life points was zero, but if you'd kindly note that the ability of a Tornado Ferret is that when it is attacking an opponent that is airborn it gains 1000 attack points during the damage step."

Using one hand to keep her duster on her head, Kim didn't say anything as the henchman hurtled upwards after her.

"And now I activate Surprise Attack!" Bronzo exploded forward the last bit of distance between them faster than Kim could have dodged and drove his nails into her stomach as the sound of a gunshot echoed across the open air around them both.

(1700/600) Kim- 7900/13000

(800/1200) Bronzo- 8000/17200

("She blocked it?") Bronzo looked at his hand and realized what that gunshot noise had come from. ("Interesting, she fired her revolver and used the force of the shot to move her hand into position to block my attack with the body of her gun.") "You've only got four bullets left."

Kim tapped the top of her deck and kicked the bronze-coated man in the chest, sending them moving away from each other in different directions. Clicking open the cylinder of her weapon she jerked it roughly and the four bullets and two empty casings inside were put into free-fall with her. Grabbing one of the four remaining bullets, she brought it up to her lips and kissed it. "Oh Holy Flame, bless this messenger."

Regaining his current of movement, Bronzo launched at her again. "I don't know what you expect to accomplish by staying in the air but it won't work."

Locking her Revolver again, Kim brought it in line with the approaching henchman's head. "**Bomb Shot!**" She pulled the trigger and was sent into a vertical spin because of the recoil from the heavy weapon.

Bronzo sneered at the bullet, easily able to follow its movements. "You won't win if you keep wasting your shots like that!" He twisted out of its way, the piece of lead flying past his face. "Now will you?"

"Nope, I won't." She twisted in the air and landed on the balcony of the second floor of the casino, already kissing another of her bullets. "Oh Holy Water, bless this messenger." Reloading the single bullet into her gun she aimed directly at him. "This one will hit!"

"Where that confidence comes from, I wonder!" Bronzo lifted his right hand, a swirling tornado of wind energy around it. "**Cyclone Spinner!**"

"**Bomb Shot Ignite.**" Her brown cloak blowing around her as she took aim, Kim kept her left hand on her duster so it didn't fly away while she brought Bronzo in line with the barrel of the revolver.

("I can easily dodge another stupid bullet, it's no problem at all!") The henchman was about to dodge when the bullet he had dodged earlier exploded forcefully, creating a powerful blast of hot air that hurled him straight towards Kim. "Oh crap!"

"**True Shot.**" The Gunner squeezed the trigger and her bullet blew out of the barrel in a strange fashion, leaving almost no recoil for her because it was cutting straight through the air currents in its way like they weren't there. "True Shot can't be negated or stopped, so eat it wind boy!"

Bronzo felt burning pain as the bullet blew straight through his left shoulder, dislocating it and probably making it useless for the rest of this fight thanks to the fact it went through the muscle tissue like some kind of insane laser. Even as he was coughing up blood though, he continued his dive and slammed his right fist into her face. (+1000 damage from True Shot in combination with increased speed from Bomb Shot)

A powerful current of wind created itself around them both and then it went in the direction of the one it was against, hurling Kim straight through the wall behind her and then through the next couple of walls after that. (+1500 attack from boosted wind current force)

(1700/600) Kim- 7300/12000

(800/1200) Bronzo- 5300/16800

Bronzo grimaced at the score that was in his mind. "So you blocked it again, huh? I bet that means you had to use that bullet block trick again."

"That's right." Kim stepped into view, holding up the last bullet from her revolver. "This is my final shot, and then I'm done."

"Well maybe you can make it work, Gun Priestess." The henchman snickered at her. "Yeah, I know all about you people. The Gun Priests and Priestesses, a group of Adventurers that got some kind of weird affinity with guns. They can even enchant their bullets to do amazing stuff, like you just did with those two shots from before."

"I don't believe I was surprised that you knew about me." She loaded the last bullet. "This is it. I won't need another Blessed Bullet to take you down. Instead I'll show you something interesting…" Standing up to her full height, she dropped the revolver down to her side.

"It's my turn though, do you think you can survive one more round against me with only one of your precious shots left?" Tapping the top of his deck, Bronzo started to build up a swirling tornado around his right arm. "**Cyclone Spinner.**" He exploded towards her, right fist cocked back to crush her body with his attack. "Like you said before, sis, eat it!"

"That phrase really doesn't suit you when you don't have access to both of your arms." She closed her eyes and turned her back to him, her cloak billowing around her. ("If ever there was a time…if ever there was a time for one of that guy's retarded inventions to work it would be now.") She kicked her foot against the ground roughly and her heel made a loud hissing noise before she was blown upwards into the air by about twelve feet.

"What the…" Bronzo shot right under her, staring in horror at the two pieces of wood left behind where she had been standing. "AHHHH, her legs blew off!"

("Just like that idiot Jason.") She aimed her gun at the back of his skull. "**Miracle Shot Countdown!**" Cocking the hammer of the weapon with her thumb, she felt the numbers tick through her mind. ("Three…two…")

Bronzo heard this and was already building his currents around his body to defend himself. "Even if you don't have legs anymore, I'll still take you down for the Boss!"

"I see your boss and me might not have so little in common after all." Her bare feet coiled underneath her cloak, she pulled the trigger. "We both know somebody way too gullible for their own good." An explosive blast of white light erupted from her Revolver and engulfed everything its path, Bronzo included.

-------------------

Alita screamed and dove for cover while the statue near her head had a hole blown in its face. "I hate guns!"

"You're not the only one," Flair growled out as he tried to resist giving in to the pain of his wounds. ("If I wasn't injured I'd proceed to cut that annoying gunman in half.")

Saika kept her hands over her head as she cowered behind cover. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I'd try my magic but…" Alita winced as she felt plaster rain down on her as another gunshot rang across the air. "It doesn't seem sound to go poking your nose out while there are bullets flying."

"What's the matter?" Gansaku yelled out while he reloaded his rifle. "What happened to all your confidence up until now, Saika?" He sneered and shouldered the butt of the weapon, taking aim at the area he knew she was hiding around. "Were all your ramblings on about protecting that stupid beast just that?"

Saika bit her lower lip and started to edge into a leaping action. ("I have to try and run for cover.")

"Those that declare themselves a protector of something are fools." The hunter fired off a shot at the spot that Saika had just been about to leap out of. "When fools want to live their lives like you do I suppose I can't stop them, but I'm telling you it's a waste of time. If you want to protect something then protect your own life and your own interests. Why would you bother protecting the lives of those that nature has determined should be killed?"

"You didn't try to kill that poor Kitty because of nature; you tried to kill it because you're a mean man!" Saika brought her hands back over her head as another bullet blew through her cover, this one nearly hitting her. "There's a difference between wanting to protect others and protecting someone! That's what King told me!"

"Mr. King seemed like one of those kinds of sentimental fools." The hunter reloaded after taking one shot at the cover the three were behind. "You can't hide there forever, hurry up and let's finish it. I'm not the most patient man in the world."

"Come on," Alita whispered desperately. "We have to go find King. I'm sure he could beat this guy!"

"That won't be necessary." Flair, eyes shadowed, crouched his legs and got ready to move. "Hunter, let me ask you something. You said earlier that those who are protectors are fools, correct?"

"That's right, I did. What about it?" Gansaku brought his rifle to bear where he saw the dust being disturbed. ("When he leaps out to try and cut me down I'll blow his head off. No one can defeat me in a ranged battle.")

"I was just double-checking." Flair, still crouched, turned to face the cover they were hiding behind. "**Shadow Sword Style…**" His legs bunched up slightly as he got ready to move.

Alita recognized the movements. "Get down Saika!" She scooted to the side a little bit.

Gansaku heard that as well. ("Here he comes…the fool is going to die…")

Flair, which was now standing behind Gansaku, slowly sheathed his sword. "The hunter has become the hunted. I'm sure you can appreciate the humor behind such a statement." The ground between where he had been crouched and where he was standing now had a black line going through it. "**Hell's Road.**"

Gansaku let out one weak gasp of pain as a huge slash wound appeared on his chest. Dropping his rifle, the hunter collapsed to the ground. "How…did you…"

"When you are a swordsman of the Shadow Sword, things such as distance and obstacles mean nothing." The samurai dropped to his knees, blood dripping down his chin. "Even this pain, these wounds…they are merely in the way of me cutting you down. That is the road I follow, pursuing the man that once defeated me and fulfilling my duty to the Royal Family of Mudeia by protecting their princess. That is Hell's Road."

Alita stood up and brushed herself off, grinning. "That's just like you Flair, holding such a good technique in reserve until the last moment."

"I apologize for taking so long with that…one…" The samurai pitched forward and collapsed face-first to the ground. "I will join you soon, Alita. Would you go make sure that the dog hasn't gotten himself killed?"

"Right!" Alita extended a hand to Saika. "Come on; let's go watch Jason break that Don Karot apart."

A slow smile crossed the rainbow-haired girl's face and she took that offered hand. ("These people…these people can do it, can't they?")

-------------------------

Kim sighed tiredly and kicked the smoldering body of Bronzo a couple of times. "I hope you enjoyed that little game, because now I wound up wasting the rest of my free time." She picked up the ruined remains of her 'jet high-heels', as they were called. ("Oh well, if I stayed around then I'd just have to listen Jason making fun of my height.") Down below she heard an explosion. "He should be fine." Standing up and holstering her revolver, the Gun Priestess in Training headed off towards the exit. "Though now I wish I still had a bullet for that stupid fishbowl Casanova's head!"

_To be continued…_


	25. The Heaviest Body

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens there.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 25: The Heaviest Body

"_Whether or not you're surrounded by your greed, it doesn't make a difference in the end." The Grafter's heavy tail slammed into the ground at his feet, creating a little earthquake throughout the surrounding area. "I'll still crush your dreams."_

Don Karot started his cheerful laughing again, a flash of gold matching the color of his suit coming from his arms as his Carrier appeared there. "Your confidence is still a mystery to me. Why do you still think you can win when I have already proven that I can defeat you in a single strike?"

Somewhere above them an explosion sounded, signaling the beginning of the battle between Kim and Bronzo. If either of them heard it though, they took no notice.

"You won because I took that hit on purpose," As Jason said this, his hands closed into fists, both appendages cracking unison twice as the knuckles and finger-joints bent into each other. "I'm going to be fighting seriously now, since I've got a real reason to kick your ass."

A series of gunshots sounded off in the background, making it seem like the two were a pair of generals speaking to each other in the middle of a great battle.

The silence stretched on for another few minutes until the Warlord sighed sadly. "How much do you know about Temarocia, Jason-kun?"

"Next to nothing!" The Grafter declared triumphantly, thumbing at his chest.

("Why are you proud of that?") Don Karot sighed again. "Then listen closely and let me tell you about this country, the country of magic. In it there are the seven Warlords and the Five Guardians of Mudeia. Those people are the true superpowers. I am one of those twelve superpowers, and yet here you stand declaring that you will defeat me. Do you understand how foolish that sounds to one such as I, who has been through countless battles in my forty long years of life?"

(300/700) Don Karot- 8000/10000

(1500/3000) Jason- 8000/5000

Jason willed his Carrier onto his arm, eyes narrowed as he tapped his deck five times. "I think the one who sounds foolish here is you, Don Karot. Are you repeating your rank for your sake, because I already know who you are?" He pounded his right hand, curled into a fist, into his left. "I said I would crush your dreams and I swear I'll accomplish that."

"So you don't understand the difference in level that a Warlord is when compared to one such as yourself?" Don Karot touched his deck and it was bathed in a golden light. "Regardless of the fact that you're a Legendary Class not seen in this world for over 400 years, you will still lose to me. I will show you the powers of a Warlord who stood at the side of one of the greatest men in all of Temarocia."

His eyes narrowed in a similar fashion to how the Grafter's had. "I will show you the first Trial of a War Merchant, and then we will see how long you last. You, who seems to value his physical strength above all else, will most likely enjoy this." His body started to give off a golden light similar to the one that had come from his deck.

"Trial?" Jason growled, his tail wagging back and forth in irritation. "Where's the Jury?"

"You're thinking of the wrong kind of Trial." Don Karot stood up to his full height, revealing that he was quite tall and quite fearsome-looking. "Trials are powers that are achieved when an Adventurer reaches a certain level of skill. They are secret abilities which have powers normally unattainable through mere training and skill. Now behold the first of my Trials!" The golden glow around his body grew brighter and he lunged at the Grafter.

"I activate Spike Aura, allowing me to double my defense when you attack!" Jason's long green-gray head-fur lengthened, falling around his ankles and suddenly becoming a solid wall of hardened spikes. (1500/6000)

The two connected and then Jason was hurled backwards, his Spike Aura catching on the ground and slowing him to a halt. ("It felt like I was trying to stop a freaking train…") Groaning, his hair retracted to normal length and he sat up while rubbing the back of his head sorely.

"It's a shame," Don Karot said as he flexed his arm. "That you cannot pierce this shell."

Jason looked up at the Warlord and his jaw dropped instantly in surprise. "What the heck?"

"I see you're surprised." The Warlord seemed to be covered from head to toe in a layer of gold, giving him the appearance of a moving statue of the rock. His shining lips curled back to reveal a mouth filled with precious rare stones instead of teeth. "All Merchants should know the importance of a clean shop and a good appearance, lest the buyer think you're a swindler and not wish to have anything to do with you. Even War Merchants know this, hence why this Trial exists. It is called Priceless Body, and that is because while it is on all damage I would take is instead deducted from the amount of Tem in possessions I am surrounded by."

(Current Wealth: 599,990,500) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000

(1500/3000) Jason- 8000/5000

"So as long as you're a rich bastard then I can't beat you, huh?" Jason brushed off his pant legs and stood up, tapping the top of his deck. ("Its fine, Stonequill can do this. I figured out how he works, so beating this guy isn't impossible.") Then he launched forward with a roar.

"So even though you know it won't hurt me you still intend to take away some of my personal bankroll, do you?" Don Karot threw his arms up in front of him defensively.

"**Heavy Piston!**" (Heavy attack effect: Treat it as if your opponent attacked you when you attack them. You may attack while in defense mode.) Jason threw his entire body into a right cross that hit the arms of the Warlord and sent him flying into a statue a dozen feet away. ("Wing was right, there's more to Stonequill than just his spikes. If it were spikes alone then I wouldn't be able to take as much punishment as I do with it.")

_Alita opened her giant tome and flipped to a certain page in it. "They can do stuff like that because they weigh over fifty tons. See, aren't they cute little tanks of destruction?"_

("While I might not agree with the cute part I have to admit that weight was what I didn't realize these guys have in spades.") He kicked a nearby piece of debris and it flew into the space where Don Karot had landed. "Get out here and let's keep this fight moving. I don't like the idea of wasting time that could be better spent kicking your ass!"

(Current Wealth: 599,987,800) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000

(1500/3000) Jason- 8000/5000

The Warlord stood up and copied Jason's earlier action, brushing a layer of finely ground powder from his now gold-plated suit. "That was a rather nice hit, Jason-kun. However I wonder if you can get past my immeasurable wealth. After all as long as I have my money no amount of damage you could create will touch me."

The Grafter sneered and held up his right middle finger. "Are you gonna keep saying you're invincible or are you going to start fighting? While punching you was pretty satisfying for me I'm sure Saika wants to see your cue ball head buried in the tile."

Don Karot laughed cheerfully again, touching the top of his deck. "You are a truly crude individual, Jason-kun. That is one of the things I find so endearing about you. After all, you're the only person to physically wish to fight me in the longest time."

"Stop blabbing and let's get this fight going already!" The Grafter kneeled slightly and his head-fur bristled outwards barely, ready to activate his Spike Aura at a moments notice.

"As you wish." Four bright diamonds erupted from the Warlord's right hand in place of his knuckles. "I activate the item Diamond Buster. While equipped I deal the opponent 1000 points of damage when I attack a defense mode monster." He launched in and punched right through the spikes that erupted around the Grafter's body.

(Current Wealth: 599,982,100) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/8700

(1500/3000) Jason- 7000/5000

Jason gasped because the shock from the pain was enough to break his ordinary immunity to such a trivial thing. ("He's fearless because of that stupid Priceless Body thing…he doesn't care how much money I cost him as long as he beats me.") Even though he had figured out Stonequill's word and abilities, it wasn't going to make a lick of difference if the opponent wasn't afraid of taking damage in the first place. ("I can't break his defense, and amassing enough damage to wipe out his money supply isn't going to be possible.")

Don Karot shined the diamonds coming from his knuckles carefully with a silk handkerchief he had taken out of his pocket, quickly bringing the gems to a glittering sheen. "So tell me Jason-kun, have you figured out yet that winning against me is impossible with your level of power?"

"I'm not done yet!" Jason touched the top of his deck and charged in towards the Warlord at full speed. "**Heavy…**" He leapt off of his feet and curled into a ball, his head-fur lengthening and turning him into a rolling spiked weapon. "**Wrecking Ball**!"

"I activate Diamond Booster!" The Warlord's foot launched up and kicked right through the hardened body of Jason, connecting with the young man's spine and sending him back the way he had come. "This technique can only activate when I've got my Diamond Buster on. It allows me to negate an attack and deal the attack the damage they would have dealt me to themselves."

(Current Wealth: 599,982,100) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/8000

(1500/3000) Jason- 4000/5000

("Man…this is pretty bad.") Jason sat up slowly and rubbed the sore part of his back that had just got kicked. "I guess it's your turn."

Don Karot touched the top of his deck and charged at the already guarding Grafter, his Diamond Buster ready to break the best defense that Jason had.

----------------------

Wing frowned in frustration and returned to chewing on the toothpick he had snatched from a nearby restaurant while all the commotion had been going on. "That stupid kid's going to get himself killed at this rate. How can he expect to win against Don Karot when he's in the guy's own casino? It's not possible."

Feather nodded, sitting on her armored rump and watching the battle with only mild interest. "A War Merchant when in a place where their wealth is stored is invincible. I thought he would have figured this out by now, but apparently he won't understand that until he gets beaten down again."

"He may not live through another beating, that's the problem." The man brushed back his cloak and grimaced. "I still don't see why the Grafter was thought of as this great being. Jason seems to be the exception, since he has five Grafts, but it doesn't matter because out of all of them the only one that stands a chance is the Epic…"

"Which is too powerful for this situation." The female Paladin curled some of her long black hair around her finger. "I'm sure that there's a way for him to emerge from this the winner, but how?"

"I'd love to know. I thought that his understanding of how Stonequill works might make this easier, but apparently it has just made things harder. Now he stubbornly thinks that as long as he defends and attacks using it he'll win." A low groan came from the man. "What will it take for this kid to start fighting smart?"

----------------------------

"I'm sure by now that he's already dismantled Don Karot." Alita, still pulling Saika along by the hand, turned another corner and heading towards the crashing sounds in the distance. "Don't you agree?"

"I hope so…" The rainbow-haired girl noticed the lack of patrons around the casino. ("I guess everybody was evacuated right after the fighting began.") She felt extremely uneasy as things were.

Then they turned the corner and Saika realized why she felt uneasy.

"Truly," Don Karot lamented, "You tried your hardest to be a hero for poor Saika. It's such a shame though that the truth of the matter is different from reality."

Jason would have responded, but he was too busy trying to keep those gold-plated hands from choking the life out of him as they gripped his neck. That didn't stop him from swinging his tail repeatedly to try and get a lucky strike in at the Warlord, but Don Karot had enough reach to make that impossible.

"It seems that you are at your limit, Jason-kun." Don Karot squeezed just a bit harder, finding the resistance against his attempts growing weaker. "I won't ask you to surrender again, as that would be extremely insulting to you."

"Thanks…for that…" Jason could smell both Alita and Saika, but at the moment he didn't have any plans to betray their positions by looking at them. ("He'll try and use them like he did before if he knows they're here.") "What did you mean before though, that I'm at my limit?"

"In this world monsters are a way of life, Jason-kun." Don Karot's grip loosened slightly. "Graftborn's, while powerful, are not invincible. If the monster the person is bonded with is weak then the abilities of the Wild Fusion will be weak. It doesn't matter how hard you try, your current Graft is far too weak. Like the last one you used, it doesn't have the power to beat me. Perhaps if you were a different class on top of having the Graft the story would be different."

"Are you saying that one of the monsters chosen by Alita was too weak? I'll kill you, you…" Jason's words were cut off as the Warlord clasped his neck again.

"It is not a matter of will at this point. You do not possess the power to defeat me and my skills in this place." Don Karot turned to look at Alita and Saika. "Those two will now surrender themselves if they want to live."

Alita was too stunned to comprehend the words leaving the mouth of the Warlord. All that she still heard was what he had said before that. ("The Prize Card I chose for Jason was too weak? He's going to die because of me?") Her eyes hardened and the crystal on top of her staff started glowing. "I won't let it end this way. We have to go take down Kyris the Hell, and you can't stop us Don Karot!"

"Is that so…" The Warlord's eyes narrowed in amusement. "Princess Alita…I don't think you understand the situation now." His hand clenched tightly around Jason's neck again to prove his point. "I'll kill this one if you don't surrender along with Saika-chan."

"Kill me?" Jason sneered, somehow speaking despite the crushing pressure to his neck. "You can't kill me, gold freak."

"I can't?" Don Karot pulled a pistol out of the folds of his gold-plated suit slowly, aiming the shining weapon at the young man's face. "You stood after I pierced your heart, so the next logical thing to do is shoot your brain. Even if you do live, your mind will be done and that will be the end of that."

"Actually," Jason snickered. "Then you'll just get your ass kicked by a retarded version of me. The outcome will be the same, but the cause will be something I'm sure a man of pride like you won't be able to accept." His eyebrows lifted questioningly. "So the real question is, Don Karot, do you want to ruin your reputation by pulling that trigger?"

The Warlord's hand started to close on that trigger, until he met eyes with the Grafter. ("I've seen that look before…in fact, I'm sure I've been looked at like that before by someone similar to this boy.") He couldn't remember for sure, but that look was something to worry about according to his instinct. "It won't have to come to that if those two ladies surrender."

"They won't because then they'll spoil my fun and I'll have to kick their asses too." Jason winked at the two after that, showing he was kidding.

("How can he joke at a time like this?") Alita still didn't understand how Jason thought at all. How could he treat such a potential death sentence like it was nothing to be worried about? ("Doesn't he care about his life at all?")

"How about this then?" The Warlord aimed his pistol at Alita. "I can't kill Saika, and apparently you don't care if I shoot you…but what about the one sane member of your little insolent group? I'm sure as a princess Ms. Meijer values her life more than you do, Jason-kun."

"Pull that trigger and I'll have to up your punishment," Any joking tone left in Jason's voice was gone. His eyes were cold now. "You're welcome to shoot at her, but understand that you'd better kill her with that shot."

"What?" Alita turned white with fear. "What are you…"

"If you don't," The Grafter cut in before she could become hysteric. "Then you'll have sacrificed your ability to walk, eat without the use of a straw, and use the restroom to wound her. Is it really worth wounding her just to give up your precious greed-filled existence, you walking pile of badly-dressed pimp?"

"…" The Warlord looked to be deep in thought. "Yes." He pulled the trigger, though Jason's expression didn't change as the bullet left the barrel of the gun. What he didn't expect though was for the bullet to suddenly ricochet off of his forehead, leaving a small scratch in his gold shell.

Alita looked around for Flair, but the samurai was nowhere to be found. ("What did that?")

Jason smirked calmly. "Yo Sai, you did something stupid didn't you?"

"Huh?" Saika, who had flinched when she had seen the gun fire, opened her eyes slowly and looked at the Grafter. "What are you talking about, Jason?" The amazed looks on the faces of Don Karot and Alita were worrying her too. "What is there something on my face?"

"Saika…" Alita rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining things. After confirming that she was right a concerned gulp came from her throat. "Did you by chance…hide the Prize Card of the Mirror Wildcat on your person?"

"Nope." The girl announced bravely, refusing to give any clues as to the location of the thing Don Karot was being such a meanie for.

"It wasn't a Prize Card, was it…?" The Warlord numbly dropped the pistol to the ground at his feet, sweat glittering off of his plated forehead. "It condensed into a Mirror Eye…didn't it?"

Saika went silent, squaring her chin and refusing to tell.

Jason exploded into laughter. "Hey Saika, this is just a guess so tell me if I'm wrong or not, but you swallowed the Mirror Eye to make sure this gold freak couldn't get it didn't you?"

The silver-crystal furred tail she had just sprouted swinging behind her, Saika kept her jaw squared proudly. "I can't tell you that, Jason." The two cat ears of a similar color scheme coming from her head twitched together as if to help prove that she was serious about keeping the location of the remains of the Mirror Wildcat a secret.

Don Karot's jaw was hanging as close to the floor as it possibly could now. Alita was doing similar. Jason couldn't have found this entire situation funnier unless Rick had been around doing something stupid like he tended to.

----------------------------------

King pocketed his newly-charged Karot's Kingdom card and put his cigarette out in the completely full ash tray sitting next to the slot machine he had used. ("My angel senses are tingling…my dear Angel Alita must need my assistance.") He lit up another cigarette, looking completely cool…until he suddenly broke into a full-speed run in a random direction. "Your white knight of romance is coming, my love! Wait for me, my divine angel of inspiration!"

_To be continued…_


	26. Saika's Determination

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything in it.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 26: Saika's Determination

_Jason exploded into laughter. "Hey Saika, this is just a guess so tell me if I'm wrong or not, but you swallowed the Mirror Eye to make sure this gold freak couldn't get it didn't you?"_

_The silver-crystal furred tail she had just sprouted swinging behind her, Saika kept her jaw squared proudly. "I can't tell you that, Jason." The two cat ears of a similar color scheme coming from her head twitched together as if to help prove that she was serious about keeping the location of the remains of the Mirror Wildcat a secret._

_Don Karot's jaw was hanging as close to the floor as it possibly could now. Alita was doing similar. Jason couldn't have found this entire situation funnier unless Rick had been around doing something stupid like he tended to._

"Not Excellent!" Don Karot hurled Jason through the air behind him and stomped towards Saika angrily. "You foolish girl, you would dare to eat something worth one billion Tem?"

"I'm not telling you, bleah!" Saika stuck her tongue out at him and stepped back as he continued to approach. "I promised Shiny Kitty-san that I wouldn't let anyone take his gift away from me, no matter what happens!"

"That's because you ate a Wild Fusion, you stupid girl!" The Warlord looked like he was on the verge of exploding into violent action, his golden plating screeching as it pressed against itself. "The Mirror Wildcat is bonded to you eternally, and there's nothing anyone can do take it out!"

"Huh?" Saika tilted her head to one side and looked at him like he was crazy. "Wild Fusion? Bonded? What are you talking about?"

"I…can't…stop…laughing…" Gasping for breath, Jason rolled back and forth across the ground screaming with laughter. "This…this is just like…Sai…"

("She willingly swallowed the crystallized remains of a monster…") Alita's eyes were twitching and she was sweating as her mind started formulating the average amount of time a Wild Fusion was supposed to bond in. ("For it to not materialize until just now though shows the rarity and power of a Mirror Wildcat. There is very little information written about Graftborns, but to see the birth of one is definitely something surprising…") If she had the time at this moment she would record the incident in her book, but the words that Don Karot had said before were still echoing in her mind. "Jason, we have to take this seriously."

"I always take this kind of stuff seriously." The Grafter sat up; legs crossed…and then fell over laughing again. "Just give me a minute!"

"We don't have a minute!" She shouted at him. "Don Karot's about to explode, and when a Warlord explodes the effects of it are disastrous!"

Don Karot roared in rage, a vein bulging out of the side of his golden-plated head. "You cost me one billion Tem, you idiot!" His body began to emit a pulsing golden light that was slowly shifting red in color. "I will make you pay for it with your death! Diamond Buster!" His diamond-studded right arm shot in towards Saika's face, the girl flinching in fear…

"_La Botte joutant à la Tête!_" King flew in and delivered a bone-shattering kick to the side of the Warlord's head, hurling him sideways with incredible speed and velocity. Dropping to the ground with surprising grace considering just how much power he had put into his kick, the fake Frenchman lit up a cigarette and pinched it between his middle and index fingers as he motioned to the fallen Don Karot. "My apologies, Don, but I can't let you hurt this girl. She's a member of the Freak Gang…"

His eyes exploded into hearts and he twirled around, dropping to his knees and gushing at Saika. "Plus she's a super-cute cat-girl!"

"Stupid perverted Frenchy…" Jason rolled to his feet and cracked his neck, walking over to stand alongside King. "Don't ruin my fun."

"Your fun?" Taking a puff of his cigarette and blowing it the Grafter's direction, King squared his jaw in a surly fashion. "You looked like you were getting smacked around, as per usual."

"That's because I was just getting warmed up," Jason growled out as his face took on a similar scary quality and he glared eye-to-eye with his friend. "You wanna go, Frenchy?"

Saika leaned in and tapped them both on the shoulder, squeaking in surprise as their very scary faces turned to glare at her at the same time. "Ummm, what did King mean when he said I was a Cat-girl?"

Alita pulled a small hand-mirror out of her pocket, offering it to the bunny-suited girl. "Take a look."

Grabbing the little reflective piece of glass and holding it up to her face, Saika stared at the silver-crystal ears that seemed as if they were waving back at her through the image. "…" She twisted slightly, using the mirror to look at the silver-crystal furred tail coming out of her backside. Her face started to break slightly, and she began to tear up. "My dad's going to kill me!" She started sniffling. "He'll think I joined a really weird gang!"

"There's someone in New York weirder than the Freaks Gang?" King turned his attention to the front as the ground started shaking. "I thought we were the weirdest out of them all."

"We are." Jason muttered as he copied the fake Frenchman's movements. "Whatever though, it looks like you and I are up to bat."

"That it does." King suddenly did a back-flip and landed on the other side of Saika in time to throw a roundhouse kick that forced the attempting to be sneaky Revlis back a few steps. "You got the gold one?"

"I got the gold one." The Grafter cracked his knuckles and then his neck. ("Though what I'm going to do with him is a different story.") He had plenty of power behind Stonequill, but it wasn't going to do him any good if he couldn't break Don Karot's Priceless Body.

"Well then, Marley, it seems you recovered from my little _Casse-noisettes Doux_." King slid his cigarette to the corner of his mouth and started doing leg stretches. "I was wondering if you would come back in time for the main event though. Your boss is going to get his head handed to him by Jason while I show you why the French way of life is better than the Island life you seem to embrace."

"Island life?" The silver-coated Rastafarian did a couple of spin-kicks, preparing himself as well. "Mr. King, you're a weird guy. What good's gonna come of challenging the Don?"

"I guess I can't answer that question without sounding like a fool." King stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Are you ready?"

"Anytime mon." Revlis suddenly charged.

"I have had enough…" Don Karot stood up, bits of debris falling off his body while the aura around him was now bright red. "Of your games! All of you have caused me so much trouble that I am now at my limit! My second Trial will put you in your place!" His hands slammed into the ground. "Feel my wrath, Priceless Prison!"

The casino started to shake uncontrollably, different statues and busts falling to the ground and breaking in the distance.

Jason had already braced himself properly, and wasn't thrown off balance by the sudden change in ground stability. "What exactly are you expecting to accomplish by making earthquakes?"

"Earthquakes?" The Warlord laughed out. "That's a bit different than the truth, Jason-kun. Priceless Prison actually is meant for a different purpose than that, as you're about to see."

The Grafter got ready to jump. ("Something's going to come out of the ground and try to trap me. That's not very hard to figure out.") His tail coiled underneath him like a spring. ("I'll just launch myself into the air and escape…")

"Priceless Prison!" Don Karot sneered in triumph as Jason and King disappeared in two flashes of golden light, replaced by a pair of pure gold statues that looked just like them, in the same positions they had been in right before the Trial had started. "My second Trial cannot be so easily avoided or dodged because it is instant. With it I have trapped the two of you in shells of gold, and because it is perfectly shaped to your bodies you have no chance of escaping through the use of brute force!"

Saika and Alita stared wide-eyed at the statue of Jason…and then they started running.

"You won't get away!" Don Karot charged at the two girls. "Revlis, intercept them!"

"You got it Don." The Rastafarian leapt in the path of the two and tugged on the collar of his coat. "Sorry ladies, but you ain't gonna get away. You'd better just surrender, otherwise you're gonna wind up like those two."

"**Wind Arts; Roaring Hurricane!**" Alita skidded to a stop and a powerful spinning blast of wind erupted around the head of the security forces, creating a cloud of dust in the area around itself. "Run Saika, I'll try to buy you…" Her eyes widened as she felt a hand clamp strongly onto the back of her neck.

"Priceless Prison." Don Karot didn't even stick around to watch the process, already moving towards where he had seen Saika last. "Saika-chan, there's no one left but you. Once you're captured I'll put those other three in my gallery and let them decorate my Kingdom. There is no escape for you. Surrender, Saika!"

The rainbow-haired girl kept running, refusing to surrender. ("Everyone is counting on me now. Wait, isn't that one samurai guy that was with Alita-chan still here?") She headed away from where she remembered he was. ("I have to wait until he recovers. Until then Kim is still here too…she can help us!")

------------------------

Kim sneezed. "I guess I've got a cold too." She continued walking down the dirt road towards the region border, her duster and cloak flapping in the wind.

-------------------------

Don Karot smirked as he approached Saika slowly. "The game is over, my dear. I guess the best I can hope for now is that when you die your body will become a Prize Card or maybe a Mirror Gem." His right hand started to glow golden. "I'll lock you in my Priceless Prison and then melt it down around you, burning you to death. How does that sound?"

"I challenge you to an Adventurer's Duel!" Saika squeaked out fearfully, deciding that this was the best way to buy time.

"That's fine…" The Warlord's Carrier reappeared. "I'll end this duel right away."

(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,982,100) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/10000

Saika felt a Carrier appear around her arm and she touched the top of it slowly, a card image and effect appearing in her mind. ("I just do this five more times, just like a normal duel.") Her hand touched the top of her deck five more times and now there was a hand of cards in her mind's eye. "I discard one card from my deck for the cost of Illusion Mirror, letting me equip it to myself." A card was spat off the top of her deck and it faded away into nothing as a shimmering and beautiful silver mirror appeared between her hands. "While this card is equipped to me I cannot be attacked while there are other creatures in play under my control."

("A deck that uses such a card must also use Familiars, eh?") Don Karot laughed. "Saika-chan, there is little chance of any help you calling being strong enough to beat me!"

"I summon Helper Cat in defense mode at the cost of one card from my deck!" A card appeared in front of the girl and changed into a cute-eyed cat that landed on the ground and meowed up the Warlord curiously. (600/600) "The card sent to the graveyard by the cost of my Helper Cat can be activated during my next turn if it is a spell, which it is. Also the card discarded to my graveyard for the cost of my Mirror was a technique card called Reflective Lightning, which returns to my hand at the end of the turn. End turn."

Don Karot touched the top of his deck is frustration. "Is this some kind of joke? Sending such annoying little creatures out as your Familiars won't help this situation for you, Saika-chan!" A card appeared alongside him and changed into a huge gold-plated humanoid monster. "I summon Gold Golem in attack mode!" (1500/1500)

(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,982,100) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9700

"Gold Golem, blow that little pest into nothingness!" The Warlord sneered as his artificial monster punched forward and shattered the feline. "I set four Contingencies and end my turn."

("I have to buy time!") Saika touched the top of her deck, a new card appearing in her mind. "At this time Helper Cat's effect lets me use the card it discarded, which is a spell called Determined Heart that costs one card from my deck to use."

She discarded the top card of her deck and then pulled five more cards free. "At this time I can discard up to five cards from my deck to my graveyard. For every one discarded my power rises by 500 points until the end of the turn!" The five cards were inserted into the graveyard and she started glowing brightly with an aura of flames. (3000/1500)

A card slid back out of her graveyard slot. "One of those cards was Illusion Mirror, which when discarded from my deck to my graveyard shuffles itself and five cards from my graveyard into my deck." Five more cards left her graveyard and she shuffled them into her deck.

"And now…" Two cards left her deck for its cost. "I summon Samurai Kitty in attack mode!" A little kitten standing on its forelegs and wearing ancient samurai armor appeared in play, drawing its little toothpick of a sword and waving it around fiercely. (1000/1000)

("This is getting ridiculous…") Don Karot frowned in displeasure that he had to fight another annoying creature along with the brat he had been taking of for this last week or so.

"I activate the technique card Reflective Lightning at the cost of one card from my deck to power up my attack by 200 points and draw two cards!" Saika's mirror sprayed out a blast of power that hit the Gold Golem and blew it apart. "Plus the card was another of my Illusion Mirrors, but since I don't have five cards in my graveyard I just shuffle it back in."

(3200/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,980,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9700

"You activated one of my Contingencies, Insurance!" The Warlord drew two cards from his deck. "At the cost of 200 magic points I can draw two cards when you destroy one of my monsters in battle. Also the effect of Gold Golem is that when it's destroyed I draw one card." A third card disappeared from the top of his deck.

(3000/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,980,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9500

"Go Kitty!" Saika pointed dramatically at the Warlord while the little samurai cat jumped at Don Karot and slashed its weapon harmlessly across his Priceless Body.

(3000/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,979,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9500

"At the end of my turn Reflective Lightning comes back to my hand." Saika picked up the card again. "I set one Contingency and end my turn."

Don Karot touched the top of his deck angrily. "I activate the spell card Skilled Builders, restoring one Location or Construct from my graveyard to the field at the cost of 500 magic points!" His Gold Golem appeared in play once more. (1500/1500)

(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,979,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000

"And now I attack with my restored Familiar!" The Warlord sneered as his monster hurtled in and crashed into the Samurai Kitty, shattering its oversized helmet. "What's this?"

"The effect of Samurai Kitty is that when it comes into play it gets a counter that is removed when it would be destroyed as a result of battle, negating that destruction." Saika bit her lower lip nervously and motioned to herself. "Also, my effect prevents me from taking battle damage while I have a Familiar in play…"

"You're too naïve if you think I'm finished!" Don Karot ran at the little creature and hit it with a powerful uppercut. "This technique increases my attack by 1500 at the cost of 1000 Tem, and it's called Jackpot!" The Kitty shattered. "End turn."

(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,978,400) (1800/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000

Saika touched the top of her deck and a card slid out of her graveyard. "At this time the effect of the card discarded to my graveyard earlier activates now. It's called Daydream and it lets me add one Imagination named Familiar from my deck to my hand." Her deck grew one card slimmer. "Now I bring out one of my Imaginations!" The mirror floating in front of her spat out a little ball of cloudy smoke that poofed into a very familiar shape.

"What…" The Warlord's right eye was twitching rapidly as he stared at what had been spawned by the mirror. "Is this supposed to be funny?"

"Not really…" A chibi version of Jason, brown tunic and all, sneered out cutely. "This is going to be the end of you, Don Karot!" (600/600)

"Yay, it worked!" Saika knelt down and hugged the Chibi Jason tightly around the neck. "This is Imagination Jason, and he's going to help me take you down."

"As I asked earlier, is this some kind of joke?" The Warlord's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You brought out a little big-headed version of Jason-kun…do you expect me to be frightened?"

"You'd better be scared, you gold freak!" Chibi Jason hopped forward and grinned confidently. "Because I'm not playing around either!" He charged in and tackled the Gold Golem with a wild grin on his face. "Now Sai!"

"Right!" The girl's mirror started shining. "Reflective Lightning!" A blast of electricity shot from it and slammed into Don Karot's body. (700/1500) Afterwards she tapped her deck twice. "Now Jason-chan!"

(700/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,978,000) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000

Chibi Jason sneered into the emotionless face of the Golem and then they both exploded like a pair of bombs, creating a cloud of smoke.

"A self-destructing Familiar?" Don Karot threw up his arms to protect himself from the smoke. "Regardless, I still draw one card from my Golem's effect and then I reveal another Insurance Contingency, drawing two more cards." Tapping his deck three times, he sneered into the cloud. "Saika-chan, you can't succeed if this is your best. I am a Warlord, not some common opponent who will fall for such childish tricks."

"I set two Contingencies down and end my turn." Saika reappeared, her eyes determined. ("I have to buy as much time as I can.")

----------------------------

Wing sighed and walked in a circle around the golden statue of Jason. "He lost again…man, this guy is weird. Seriously, he was wailing on Ruerto Masquil before when they fought."

"That was with the Burst Fox Graft though. As Stonequill I think he's trying too hard to strike strong blows." Feather rubbed her chin, pondering something. "Should I remove the layer of gold from his body? As long as it's attached he's trapped in a kind of stasis so he doesn't suffocate…but still it's rather inconvenient."

"Don't free him just yet." Wing slapped the statue across the face roughly. "This idiot doesn't deserve any respect if he can't even take down a freaking pansy like Don Karot!" He started kicking and punching the statue half-heartedly, though for him a half-hearted punch probably would have injured a normal person.

"What are you doing?" Feather sighed and sat down on a nearby bench, crossing her legs daintly as she watched the black-caped man insult and rough up the statue.

-------------------------

"It's my turn now, Saika-chan!" Don Karot touched the top of his deck in frustration. ("This girl is wasting my time…and that's probably her purpose. She thinks that my Priceless Prisons will break sooner rather later…and she is wrong. They will break if even one crack appears in their flawless surface, but such a thing will not come to be because she is all that is left of her friends.") "I summon another Gold Golem!" A second golden humanoid appeared before him. (1500/1500)

(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,978,000) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/8700

"Also, I play Rich Man's Advantage, letting me do one thing that would normally break the basic rules of the game. In this case I'll be making another summon at the cost of 10000 Tem." Don Karot motioned to in front of him and another Gold Golem appeared. (1500/1500)

(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0

(Current Wealth: 599,978,000) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/8400

"And now I crush you with these guys' weight." The Warlord pointed at Saika. "Attack her directly!" One of the two Golems roared forward and fell on the girl, throwing up another cloud of dust. When it cleared the creature stood up to reveal the she had disappeared. "Where did she go?"

Saika's head suddenly poked up out of the tile, seeming to be connected to nothing at all. "Whew, that was close. It's a good thing I set Ground Shelter as a Contingency."

"So you escaped?" Don Karot pointed at the disembodied head of his target. "Golem number two attacks!" The creature charged at Saika, hands extended to grab her…

"KYYYAHHH!" The girl exploded out of her hiding place in the tile and slapped the monster across the face, somehow sending it flying away from her.

"What…what was that?" Don Karot couldn't believe that the meek little girl he had employed into his service was capable of such a thing.

"Anti-Pervert Strike, another of my Contingencies that removes your hand from the game until the end of the turn and negates your direct attack." Saika huffed out angrily, glaring at the twitching leg of the Gold Golem that was currently buried up to its waist in a wall.

"End turn for now." Don Karot no longer had his hand cards so there was nothing he could do about this except wait until his next turn.

----------------------------

Feather looked up from the book she had been reading when the tirade of insults and smacking noises had finally ended. "Are you done venting on the disabled?"

Wiping some sweat from his brow, the black-caped man turned and cracked his knuckles. "Get ready to head for cover; this isn't going to be pretty. If I know this guy's temperament, this is going to be something amazing to witness."

"Hmmm? What do you mean?" She pocketed her book and stood up, brushing herself off gently.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAH," Wing laughed dramatically, his voice sounding much deeper then normal. "I, the mighty Don Karot, have easily subjugated you and your weakling friends! Now I'll go throw you all in cells and feed you nothing but corn beef!"

"..." Feather sweatdropped and tapped him in the side of the head. "Are you feeling alright?"

"It's just a hunch based on past experiences with our common associate." Wing wound up and punched the golden plating will all of his might. After a few seconds little cracks started appearing in the whole statue. "Now we run like mad!" He turned and ran full speed for cover with Feather right behind him.

A low growl came from the cracking gold… "I…" One of the arms shattered, revealing the flesh underneath. "Hate…" The face splintered and came apart in a spray of golden flakes. "…Corn beef!" Jason exploded free from the rest of the Priceless Prison, his eyes shaking in rage. "DON KAROT!" With speed thought only out of someone in a cartoon he ran, leaving a dust trail in his wake.

------------------

The Warlord turned to look behind him, eyes wide. "Impossible…how did he get free?"

"I'm going to kick your ass!" Jason came flying around the corner and slammed his shoulder into the Don's chest, sending him hurtling through a pillar and along the ground for a few dozen feet. Throwing back his head the Grafter roared in anger and slammed his foot into the ground, causing another small earthquake.

"Don't get so insolent, mon!" Revlis came in from the side, his leg cocked back to land a powerful whirlwind kick to Jason's chest. "Don Karot doesn't have the time to be dealing with a minor annoyance like you!"

Jason, who was already spitting up a little bit of blood from the first hit, was nearly completely out cold when the second one came and threw him into a corkscrew.

"_What are you doing here?" She shouted at the top of her lungs, bringing all other activity in the café to a halt. "Leave this place right now!" Face contorted in anger, she slapped him hard across the other cheek. "GET OUT!"_

Revlis was suddenly standing above Jason, bringing the heel of his foot down and cracking one of the young man's ribs with the force of it. "You're way outta your league, mon!"

"_Later." Jason's smile faded as Don Karot's Golden Whip exploded straight through his chest, burning a hole in his heart. His body stumbled slightly, and then collapsed to the ground lifelessly. The only sound coming from it was the sound of the smoldering leather of his tunic around the hole in his back…that and the smell of charred flesh which permeated the air left no doubt in the minds of anyone watching. That attack had ended it._

Saika was shouting something, but he couldn't hear her. Not over the sound of his own bones breaking and his blood pounding his ears as he was turned into a soccer ball by a guy who was way too much like King when it came to fighting.

"_It is not a matter of will at this point. You do not possess the power to defeat me and my skills in this place."_

Revlis casually held the Grafter up by the edge of his tunic. "You got anything to say in your defense? You're pretty weak, but at least you entertained the Don more than he'd probably like to admit."

("Entertain…huh…") Jason's growl got lower and lower.

-------------

Wing banged his head against the wall next to him. "You have to be freaking kidding me! One of the Warlord's henchmen is beating him down now? Its official, this kid has nothing to do with the guy we know."

Feather's eyes widened slightly, as what she was seeing was a bit different than what Wing apparently saw. "I suggest you don't take your eyes off him. This is about to be very painful."

"I never thought you were into stuff like that." The man chuckled weakly. "I don't have any wish to watch the kid get pummeled by the silver-coat."

"That's…well…" Feather giggled. "Just watch…"

-------------

Don Karot groaned and sat up, rubbing the side of his head. "That…was rather painful." Standing up and brushing himself off, he sneered at his golden body. "But pain means nothing if the damage is zero. I am invinc…" He finally bothered to look up.

There was a cloud of dust stealing his vision of almost everything. The only thing he could see… "Revlis!" Running to his henchman's side, he kneeled down alongside the fallen man. "What happened?"

"Don…" The Rastafarian gurgled out through his swollen lips. In fact it seemed as if his entire body was swollen and bruised. "He…the Grafter…"

("I couldn't have been out for that long…but it looks like every bone in his body is broken. How could that be possible?") The Warlord's eyes reflected rage now, his normal semi-good cheer completely gone. "Come out Jason-kun, how did you do this to one of my precious underlings?"

"How?" The young man's voice came from the dust cloud, which was starting to clear. "One punch…that was all it took…"

"You did this to him in one punch?" Don Karot stood up in defiance of such a possibility. "No one punch has this kind of destructive power!"

"Well to be fair," Jason added in, his long shadowed hair blowing in a wind that apparently was around him only, "It was a really big punch." The dust cleared completely to reveal him… and it showed something unbelievable. It was a form that Don Karot had never seen before…

_To be continued…_

_Don Karot: What is this form? How could you have possibly beaten Revlis with a single strike? It doesn't matter how much power you have, the damage had far too wide of a spread! I'll bring this battle to its final skirmish!_

_ Jason:..._

_Next Chapter: Grafter's Trial; The True Purpose of Five Elements  
_


	27. Grafter's Trial

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything in it.

A loud crack echoed across the abandoned casino floor, followed by the sound of gold hitting the ground. Alita coughed a couple of times and brushed some of the remaining gold dust from her hair. "Thanks for freeing me, King."

The fake Frenchman lit up a cigarette and threw her a thumbs-up. "I still don't know who freed me though, but I'm guessing it was Jason…where is he though?"

"I don't know. On that note, where's Don Karot?" The magician furrowed her brow as she heard someone coming, gripping her staff tightly as she got ready to fight. "King…"

"I hear it." He turned and lifted one leg a little to strike…but lowered it when he realized that it was Saika. "Hey Saika, where's Jace?"

"He's…well…" The girl's hair was standing on end and her newly-added tail was snapping back and forth nervously. "I…ummm…"

"Spit it out," King glanced up at the ceiling, a foreboding feeling in the air. "He told us to leave, didn't he?"

She nodded meekly. "He sounded kind of angry…do you think he'll be okay? After he did that weird thing…and then he flattened that dreadlocks guy I was kind of worried…"

("He took down that fearsome head of security?") Something about that sounded strange to Alita. ("The power of his Grafts was only so-so up to this point, though in his fight against Ruerto Masquil he did well. I wonder now whether or not he is just totally serious or something else happened.")

"Marley got taken down huh?" King frowned in displeasure. "I was going to beat the crap out of him too. Oh well, I guess we'd better go help out bathrobe and then we run like madmen for the exit. I predict that this place is going to come crashing down on our heads if we don't."

"Are you sure it's okay to leave it to him alone?" Alita asked worriedly. "Just because he believes he is strong enough doesn't prove very much at all. After all, if he is beaten then what will happen to the rest of us?"

"If in the time I've spent watching him act stupid, there's one thing I've learned." King flicked his cigarette away and paced off in the direction of the cashier's box. "When that blockhead says get away he means it. I'm sure he swore something stupid like that he was going to destroy this place, so let's get out of his way. How long did he say we have, Saika?"

"Five minutes," The new Graftborn looked rather skittish. "I feel really uneasy all of a sudden. It's like there's something terrifying nearby…a predator or something." She seemed to be muttering to herself now. "I guess it's to be expected after what I saw Jason do. I never knew that Grafters could do something like that…what was that word he said again when it happened…"

"What are you talking about?" Alita leaned in close, head tilted so she could listen fully. "What word did he say and what happened?"

"Well…" Saika began to explain…

------------

Karot's Kingdom seemed almost abandoned. It was like some kind of haunted building more than a casino now. To Flair though this didn't matter. If it was a haunted house then he would simply slay the ghosts… "That doesn't matter though. Alita, stay safe until I return."

Frowning in anger at the stupidity of bureaucrats, the samurai turned and walked off into the night. "You should be fine though…now that what I needed to know has been confirmed. Without a doubt, the dog is the son of that man." It was time to report to his superiors.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 27: Grafter's Trial; The True Purpose of the Five Elements

_Revlis casually held the Grafter up by the edge of his tunic. "You got anything to say in your defense? You're pretty weak, but at least you entertained the Don more than he'd probably like to admit."_

_("Entertain…huh…") Jason's growl got lower and lower._

"_Huh?" Revlis's face got dangerously close to those fangs. "You got something to say or not? I'm about to end it, mon."_

"_**Chimera…Double…**" Jason's growl turned into a sneer and then the two of them disappeared within an explosion of dirt and wind._

-------------------------------

"Chimera?" Alita rubbed her chin in concern. "How odd…what happened afterwards?"

"Well…" Saika winced just remembering it. "I heard what kinda sounded like a train and I saw the dreadlocks guy come out of the cloud, and he was all bloody. In fact, he was really bloody." She puffed out her cheeks and stuck her tongue out a little bit. "Kinda like this, except with bruises."

Alita giggled at the appearance of the other girl. "Thank you for the visual aid."

Exhaling and returning her face to normal, Saika grinned. "You're welcome."

-------------------------------

Don Karot, flanked by his two Gold Golems, looked incredibly displeased with what he was just told. "Would you care to repeat that, Jason-kun? My ears may not be working correctly."

"I said that you won't be walking away from this with a single Tem left to your name. In the end I will bring your dreams crashing down around you." The Grafter slowly came into view, revealing long flowing green-silver hair with a pair of perked fox-liked ears poking out of it. Other than that he seemed normal though, excluding the strange amount of extra muscle on his body.

"Perhaps you still don't get it, so let me explain it once more." Don Karot put one hand in a pocket, gesturing with the other. "In this world I am one of the movers and shakers. Great decisions are made by me, and by declaring me as your enemy you are declaring all the other warlords as your enemies as well. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life hounded by them? They will take interest in you if you do, and besides you won't survive in this fight. Is it worth giving up your life?"

"Yeah it is." The Grafter's Carrier appeared around his arm and he drew five times. "My life doesn't mean anything if the members of my gang aren't happy. When they cry, I feel the need to kick the ass of whoever is the cause of it."

"I cannot cure such stupidity." The Warlord rubbed his chin curiously. "My second question though is just what this never before seen Graft is. You said that you defeated Revlis in one hit with it, and I cannot believe such a thing."

"Whether you believe it or not isn't important." Jason stretched his arms a little bit. "Are you ready to fight yet?"

"Indeed." The Warlord started to undo the buttons of his shirt. "It seems that I'll have to go full power against you. Up to this point I'm sure that you think I'm nothing but a braggart hiding behind my troops, correct?"

"Nope." Since he still had no pockets Jason continued to do warm-up exercises for his arms. "You're strong. Anybody can become rich, but to become rich and feared you have to be powerful on your own. The ways people talk up to you makes me think that you've got a trick or two up your sleeve."

"That's correct." Don Karot's gold-plated dress shirt fell off to his side, and he started to unbutton his dress pants. "I do not normally show this to opponents because it is embarrassing to strip down to nearly nothing, but in your case I cannot afford my pride at this time."

Jason frowned at how oddly disturbing it was as the man who had beaten him twice stripped down to nothing but a pair of gold-colored boxers, Don Karot's gold-plated skin glowing in what lights of the casino were still functioning. "Dude, this had better be the world-ender of all techniques because if it isn't then there's no way I'm going to take you seriously. Do your boxers have to be gold? Isn't that overdoing it just a little bit?"

"My apologies if it makes you uncomfortable, but I do not want to ruin my suit," The Warlord's skin started to glow more and more golden. "This is the power, the third trial of a War Merchant that truly encompasses our love for gold and jewels. With it I will become the ultimate powerhouse of destruction, and as long as I have it going you will be unable to damage me. Also, I will be capable of easily surpassing anything your Grafts can do." His eyes were shimmering gold now, as if his greed and darkness were finally revealing themselves. "I hope your enjoy it! **Golden Fighter**!"

A deep groan came from his body as he grew taller, muscles adding upon muscles. "In this form…" His chest muscles burst forth, his voice becoming even deeper than its normal brass tone. "My great riches become my strength, my speed, and my defense. I become an ultimate fighter, fueled by the things I worked so hard to collect." Stopping as he reached a towering nine feet tall, the now giant-like Don Karot statue opened its lips to reveal a mouth full of sharpened diamond points. "With their power I will be invincible." His fists closed, revealing the diamonds covering his hands. "You cannot stop me now."

"I can't?" Jason took a deep breath…and started chuckling. "I don't buy it."

Don Karot's eyes narrowed and he bent at his knees, Carrier appearing. Off to his side the two Gold Golems slowly faded away. "Then let me show you, Jason-kun, the true reason why no one opposes the Warlords!"

"Sure, it sounds like fun." The Grafter's tail curled around his waist. "You'll have to excuse me if for the first minute or two I seem kinda weak. I'm not used to this body and it's been a long time since I've had an old-fashioned Back-Alley Brawl."

"Back-Alley…Brawl?" The Warlord sneered at this. "I have enough class to find the tone behind that offensive, Jason-kun."

"Like I care." Jason sneered back and his Carrier appeared, the two of them drawing five cards. "Let's do it, Don Karot!"

(Current Wealth: 599,978,000) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/10000

(2500/3000) Jason- 8000/10000

"Draw!" The Warlord touched the top of his deck and then exploded forwards, the ground almost instantly becoming a blur under his feet. "I discard one card from my hand to activate Golden Jackpot, boosting my attack by 2000 by paying 200000 Tem!" His body started glowing brightly and his fist roared forward with impossible speed, crashing through Jason and hurling him fifty feet backwards until finally the objects he was going through actually started to slow him down, bringing his out of control flight into a crash that scraped the carpet in his path out of the ground.

(Current Wealth: 599,778,000) (5000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/10000

(2500/3000) Jason- 8000/10000

Jason slowly stood up, looking absolutely fine other than a little dirty from the numerous things he had just been blown through. "Those diamonds nearly left an imprint in my skin from the force of that attack…or they would have had this been my normal body."

("What does he mean by that? Even a monster would have collapsed under the force of that attack.") Don Karot stood up and braced himself for the counter-attack. "I set two Contingencies and end my turn."

"Draw." Jason touched the top of his Carrier, which was apparently immune to damage or the possibility of losing his cards because of applied pressure. "End turn."

"What?" The Warlord bellowed out in surprise. "Is this some kind of trick?"

"Nope, not at all." Jason crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. "It's all part of my strategy."

"Draw!" Don Karot hit the top of his deck and launched forward again. "I discard one card from my hand to activate Golden Mega Jackpot at the cost of 100000 Tem! If this attack hits then you discard two cards from your hand and my attack increases by 1000 for the turn!" His fist connected with the side of Jason's head, and then with air-shattering speed he somehow managed to land a second punch that turned what would have been an attack capable of sending the Grafter out of the casino into an attack that nearly put him through the floor instead.

(Current Wealth: 599,678,000) (4000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/10000

(2500/3000) Jason- 8000/8000

Jason stood up slowly and smiled confidently. "What the hell was that supposed to do? Make me get in position to take a nap? Sorry Don Karot," He touched the top of his deck. "I'm not sleepy. End turn."

"You insolent little…" Don Karot struck the top of his deck and punched the young man into the ground again, shaking the entire structure of the building. "You dare mock me? If my attacks are having no effect then why don't you just say so?"

"Why? Need a little handicap?" Jason snickered out from his position on the floor. "Well sorry, I'm just not the handicap-giving type!" He exploded upwards and crashed his fist into the Warlord's open stomach, a strange vibrating noise accompanying the action. "End turn."

(Current Wealth: 599,675,500) (4000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/10000

(2500/3000) Jason- 8000/8000

"You fool." Don Karot hit the top of his deck and with that same arm back-handed Jason through another series of obstacles. "Do you really think that hurt me at all?"

(Current Wealth: 599,675,500) (4000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/10000

(2500/3000) Jason- 8000/8000

Jason calmly stood up, his lips curled into a sneer and his eyes shadowed. "And I ask you the same question, Don Karot." His head lifted up and he touched the top of his deck, still apparently unaffected by the Warlord's stone-breaking attacks. (JMP: 9500) "Here I come!" He charged in towards the Warlord and punched him in the stomach again.

"And this time my Contingency activates." A group of small golden spikes erupted from the glittering skin of the Golden Fighter, stabbing right into the young man's hands. "That was my Golden Spike Body, which at the cost of 500 magic points and 1000 Tem negate the damage you would have cost my Priceless Body. It also deals you 500 points of damage, though I suppose that as well will be…" His eyes widened slightly as he noticed something interesting.

"Even though you are apparently immune to the long-term effects of pain, the short-term effects that just flashed on your face tell me…" A slow smile crossed his features. "That I've just hit the metaphorical jackpot, so to speak."

(Current Wealth: 599,674,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/8000

"You could say that." Jason licked his bloody right hand a couple of times to try and stop the bleeding of the wound. "I'm not immune to points and blades, but all that pounding you were trying to inflict on this body won't do any good. I've got way too many special abilities and cards that negate stuff like that."

"Is that so?" Don Karot laughed cheerfully at how odd this kind of behavior was. "Will telling me your weaknesses make this any easier for you, Jason-kun?"

"Psh, I'm not looking for easy." Jason smirked ecstatically. "I was looking for a good fight, and you intend to give it to me. Where's the enjoyment in a good fight if you were to spend all this time and effort using useless attacks against me. Besides, if I don't make sure that this fight was something to truly be appreciated then how could I ever tell them that the moment when you lost was truly something, eh?"

"You're a very strange boy, Jason-kun." Don Karot's right hand shuddered and the diamond studs there changed into diamond spears. "Very well then, I'll reward your perseverance with a fight to be remembered! By the end of this the winner will be so exhausted that movement will be impossible for him!"

"We'll see." Jason kicked his leg back and dodged a punch that would have put those spikes through his face, the wall behind him getting four new craters in its originally smooth surface. "Though the countdown is already done. I've got more than enough to begin kicking your ass for real, Priceless Body or not. Now it's just a matter of drawing the correct card."

Then they both became a pair of moving blurs for two seconds before they stopped, Jason's kick having pushed Don Karot's right hand out of the way just enough to avoid getting slashed by the diamond spikes.

----------------------------

King hefted the heavy sack of Tem that he had gotten for his card at the automated Cashier's over one shoulder and grinned to Saika. "With this we'll be set to have plenty of fine meals at other establishments…if there are any other places like this one. How much time do we have left, Saika?"

"Two minutes, I think." The rainbow-haired girl's ears perked and she turned just as Alita rushed around the corner. "Where's Flair-san?"

"He's not anywhere to be found!" The blond-haired girl looked extremely worried now. "I hope those injuries from before haven't disabled him."

King's face contorted in frustration for a few seconds… "Saika!" Having gotten the girl's attention he tossed her the heavy bag of Tem. "Take my angel and head out for now. I promise not to leave until either this place has come crashing down or I've found the bathrobe. I swear." Then he ran past them both and started yelling Flair's 'name'.

"Should we go?" Saika asked mischievously, a wry little grin crossing her face.

Alita returned the grin...more than happy to disobey. "Sure, let's…"

------------------------------

_Jason's body was surrounded by a powerful aura of wind energy. "Alita is Alita, not Princess Alita. If she had wanted to be called that then the ass wouldn't have been so careful to call her Alita, now would he?"_

--------------------------------

Saika leaned in worriedly as Alita suddenly grew rather pale. "What's the matter?"

"When Jason told us to get out," the blond-haired magician breathed out. "Did you feel chills run down your spine? As if something amazing was about to happen and at the same time everything was going to be alright?"

"Yeah, that's why I know it's ok to not worry." Saika sneered in a very un-Saika-like way. "When he gets this kind of weird smile it means that he plans on doing something for our sakes."

"That's all I wanted to know." Alita turned towards the exit. "Let's go outside. I have a feeling that Jason intends to show us something interesting that we'd need to be outside to see. You, most of all, will probably want to see this too." Giggling at the cute perplexed expression on Saika's face, she put an arm around the other girl's shoulders. ("Jason…please don't screw this up. If you pull it off then this country will roar with your name, and people will finally have hope again.")

----------------------------

(Current Wealth: 599,674,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/8000

Jason exhaled sharply and lowered his foot to the ground, right leg shaking. "That makes ten of those jabs I've blocked. Honestly I've forgotten whose turn it is."

"As have I. That happens in Adventurer Duels sometimes, but it doesn't matter." Don Karot's body had yet to show even a scratch on its flawless surface. "Shall we both catch up on the number of draws we've missed, and then we shall see where we go after that?"

"We can do that?" When the Warlord nodded Jason laughed. "That's pretty awesome…"

Both of them touched the tops of their decks ten times. (JMP: 13000)

"I will allow it to be your turn now, Jason-kun." Don Karot stood up to his full height, smirking. "Let me see what you can do."

Jason's arms dropped limply to his sides. "Tell me something first. Just where are we in the casino?"

"Where?" The Warlord looked around him for a few moments and then he smiled in amazement. "This is the Blackjack tables' area, the dead center of the casino."

"Is it?" Jason exhaled in relief. "Good, then it all worked out like I thought."

"Excuse me?" Don Karot glanced around expecting some kind of trap, but there was nothing to be seen but the ceiling of the casino far above their heads. "What are you talking about?"

"The moment you got all huge I knew you'd instinctively try to drive me into the area where there was the most headroom, and while you were chasing me through here earlier I noticed that the center was made up of a bunch of balconies and a huge open area from the bottom floor to the top. It was the perfect place to bring this fight to a close just like I had wanted." Jason touched the top of his deck silently, his eyes smiling. "Now then, I'll show you my powers for real. The power of Chimera One, Vortex Beast!"

"Chimera?" The Warlord growled out, angry that he had played right into this boy's hands.

"I figured it out right after it happened and I broke that loser's body with a punch." Jason looked down at his fist. "Grafters aren't like Graftborn because they are supposed to have multiple Grafts. Alita and the ass were wrong, but considering this class is a legend to them I can't fault them for it."

"All Grafters are supposed to have multiple Grafts?" Don Karot lifted his brow. "What proof do you have?"

"Why else would their first trial be the ability to combine up to two of their Grafts together to make a new one, eh?" The living proof of this laughed. "I'm nothing exceptional when it comes to Grafters…apparently. That doesn't matter though…or at least it won't matter to you."

"A…trial? That's impossible!" The Golden Fighter shook his head vehemently. "You cannot achieve a trial unless you have gone through years of training at your class! It is impossible otherwise!"

"Maybe I'm just a genius at this Graft stuff…" Jason snickered at how utterly idiotic that sounded. "For all I know maybe Grafters get their first Trial within a week of becoming one. How the hell should I know how they work? All I do know for sure…is that this fight is over. By giving me the turn you've set yourself up for defeat!"

Don Karot exploded into laughter at such an utterly idiotic statement. "Do you really think that…"

"I set one Contingency and activate one of Vortex Beast's effects." Jason's body seemed to swell just a little, growing more muscular and taller. "When I start a duel a card called Pressure Core is placed into play with me, and cannot be negated or removed. During each of my end phases this card lets me remove a card from my graveyard and place it under it. Also I can, through the effect of Vortex Beast, place any number of cards from my hand under Pressure Core at any time I wish. Therefore I set nine cards underneath Pressure Core, equaling a total number of seventeen cards, though it should count as nineteen since two of the cards in there are a pair of techniques I used before that count as two cards when under Pressure Core."

("I have thirteen cards in my hand, there's no way he will get to my life…")

"I activate the spell card Roaring Emotions." Jason's eyes were shadowed, and he was scowling. "All cards in both players' hands are removed from the game and if my life points are fewer than yours you remove the top five cards of your deck from the game."

"What?" Don Karot gasped as his entire strategy disappeared, a burst of heated emotions flaring through his mind. "You….you little runt!"

"In my graveyard is a card I've used a lot as Burst Fox, called Shaking Strike. While it's in my graveyard pile every time I land a direct attack I draw one card." Jason's scowl didn't relent. "Just so you know. Oh, and my Contingency, called Vortex Rush, activates now. If I have no cards in my hand then I may return up to ten cards from under my Pressure Core to my hand if they are cards I have placed in this turn. In other words, my hand returns to me." He cracked his knuckles. "One minute…"

"I'll kill you!" Don Karot launched forwards, the burning emotions in his mind caused by the spell card clouding his thoughts. "**Golden Super Mega Jackpot!**"

Jason's rather swollen body suddenly condensed. "I activate a little trick I just thought up. It's called Velocity Overpressure. It lets me shuffle five cards from under my Pressure Core back into my deck."

His entire body seemed to be shifting, as if something was moving just underneath it with incredible pressure. "If I wasn't immune to ordinary pain I would be screaming in agony right now. It's fine though, since this technique is just perfect for me."

Even as he spoke to his eyes the Warlord's movements slowed down to a crawl. "For the next three turns I am five times faster than normal…and all damage I deal is multiplied by five. In other words," His eyes lifted up to reveal that he could barely see, the pain nearly blinding for even him. "In this one turn it will all disappear. Your riches, your casino, your greed, and your ass. By the time I finish speaking there will be forty-five seconds until the time limit I gave myself will be up."

He flickered out of view to dodge a golden punch that cratered the ground in a forty-foot circumference around the spot it hit, appearing at very edge of the crater. "Release of Power…" The pressure under his skin seemed to disappear beneath the aura of shimmering air that erupted around his body.

"I activate Grand Battle, meaning that for every single technique I activate I'll be attacking again." Jason tapped his deck three more times besides the three he drew from Release of Power. "I activate For Your Family's Sake, drawing three cards from my deck and then ignoring the discard part if I have fewer life points than you do."

By the time he had finished speaking Don Karot had just started standing up, the difference in speed easily evident.

"You made the girl I consider to be my little sister cry…not once…not twice…but countless times." The shimmering mirage-like aura around Jason grew stronger, his face twisted in rage as the pain from his Velocity Overpressure effect was overwhelmed by his will. "What would you do if you were in my shoes, huh Don? Oh wait, if you were in my shoes then you would probably just sell the whiny little brat off to the highest bidder and be done with her, huh?" As he said this the aura grew stronger and stronger, and the veins coming out of his face throbbed faster and faster.

"You…" In slow motion the Warlord started to respond, barely able to keep up with what was being yelled at him.

"You'd just threaten and torture her until she shut up, wouldn't you?" His arms began trembling, and the pillars near him started to crack under the force of the pressure aura coming from just under his poor skin. "In fact, that's exactly what you did to my little sister…to a member of my family! In a million years I couldn't inflict enough pain on you to make up those horrible moments of despair to her!"

"…cannot…" The slow motion Don Karot kept turning, nearing the point where he could see his opponent.

"You don't deserve any respect, you detestable piece of slime! For all your boasting and bragging about your level you have yet to prove to me the one thing that makes a leader!" The veins running along his arms were to their breaking point, a couple of them on the verge of bursting from the overwhelming amount of air pressure being pumped through them. "Do you know what that thing is?"

"…defeat…"

"It's the thing that is about to bring your entire false empire crashing down around you. It is the mark of a real leader and a real man. It is what separates the brutes that will never be mourned by anyone from the men who will stand on top of the world thanks to the supporting shoulders of those they are loved by! It's compassion!"

"…me!" Don Karot's face was growling in rage now, a picture frame look at one who had so much he wished to say.

After a few seconds, at least to his mind, Jason's enraged expression grew even deeper. "For Saika's happiness, for Alita's self-esteem, for King's and Flair's respect of me as a man, and as a small payment towards the debt of my past…" He bent at the knees, and then pushed off the edge of the crater, moving forwards with the speed of a gust of wind as his fist crashed into the Warlord's jaw and forced his head back roughly.

Their eyes met once more, the eyes of two men who cared about their own kinds of riches and were willing to fight to the death to decide whose fortune would carry on past this remaining forty-five seconds. And even though the difference in speed should have prevented it, Don Karot perfectly read the words on Jason's lips. And he couldn't help but dwell, in that one moment before they continued moving, what an odd thing it was to say. "…I'm gonna beat ya till candy comes out, ya giant rich-ass piñata."

(Current Wealth: 599,659,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

_To be continued…_

_King: Where's that stupid bathrobe? We need to get out of here before the time limit is up! If this place comes down while we're in it then I doubt even I could make it out okay._

_Next Chapter: Fulfillment of Promises_


	28. Fulfillment of Promises

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything in it.

Saika sat down in the wild grass and looked up at the almost ghost-like form of Karot's Kingdom. "It's so quiet…like some kind of tomb. I wonder if they're still fighting in there…"

"In forty-five seconds or so we'll see," Alita sat down in the grass next to the other girl. ("I wonder though…what do you have planned Jason?")

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 28: Fulfillment of Promises

"…_I'm gonna beat ya till candy comes out, ya giant rich-ass piñata."_

Don Karot stumbled backwards, his eyes wide in surprise. ("Five times his normal speed…even then he shouldn't be this fast!") His legs twisted and he rolled his face off the fist that was crunching into his golden skin, preparing to turn 360 degrees and bring his heavy leg down on the boy's backside. ("I'll break your spine, you insolent little…")

"**Heavy Impact Bolt-Action!**" Jason already had the towering body of the Warlord bent over his shoulder, his fist having crashed itself into the Priceless Body by the time Don Karot had finished thinking of how he was going to counter an opponent that was already ten steps ahead of him. (Technique; Vortex Beast Only; If this attack successfully connects deal your opponent a second attack's worth of damage on top of this amount.)

(Current Wealth: 599,634,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

A gunshot rang out across the casino as a blast of pressure exploded through Jason's fist and directly to Don Karot's body, hurling him to his back as his curled shape went rigid, unable to bend because of the force behind the blow it had taken. A low gasp of pain was forced out of him as he rolled to his feet just in time to get hit in the stomach again. "**Bolt-Action!**" Another gunshot rang out and this time it came at the same time as the punch delivering it, meaning that he was hurled backwards from the combined force.

(Current Wealth: 599,609,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

Don Karot's backwards motion was stopped as he was assaulted by a flurry of pressure blasts which sent him flying the other direction. "**Turret!**" (Technique; Vortex Beast Only; Discard any number of cards from your hand. For every card you discard attack an additional time this turn. Your original attack when you use this technique becomes 1000 while you are under this card's effects.)

(Current Wealth: 599,584,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

Even as he was hurtling through the air, the Warlord found the pain bearable. ("For all of us protesting and raging, he cannot penetrate the barrier erected by my Priceless Body and my hidden riches. My money located in safe places where he cannot possibly destroy it is my power. This boy is out of his league if he thinks that he can defeat my Priceless Body with raw power alone!")

"**Heavy Impact Turret!**!" A blur of silver-green appeared in front of the Warlord and he went flying the other direction he had come from, though not a single dent had yet to appear in his golden body.

(Current Wealth: 599,564,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

-------------------------------

00:00:10

-------------------------------

"**Heavy Impact Shrapnel!**" Jason's right fist crashed into the top of the Don's head and a spray of pressurized darts of air blew through his grip and into the glittering bald smoothness that was the Warlord's head, though it had no effect at all. (Technique; Vortex Beast only; Creates an explosive blast of air pressure from your fist when you punch, equaling a total of one hundred air darts. Each 'dart' does 500 points of damage but is not considered an attack.)

(Current Wealth: 599,302,000) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

----------------------------------

00:00:08

---------------------------------

"That's right, keep wasting your power." Don Karot's sneer grew deeper as he caught sight of Jason for just a moment, and then his stomach imploded inwards as he was hit hard by something. "Your cannon technique, even at that speed my Priceless Body simply shrugs it off!"

(Current Wealth: 599,289,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

"**Heavy Impact Homerun!**" Jason's hand crashed into Don Karot's cheek, cracking the man's neck to one side as he was pummeled by the powerful technique. (Technique; Vortex Beast Only; If you have fewer life points than your opponent draw two cards. If your have fewer life points than your opponent this attack deals double damage.)

(Current Wealth: 599,264,500) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

("I'm not going to break his defense, no matter how much power I have.") Jason's mind saw only Don Karot at the moment, everything else just a blur to him. ("I can't back down though. I will see Saika smile…I will make her pain go away!") "**Heavy Impact Cannon!**" His two hands, at supersonic speed, collided with the man's gut again and imploded the gold just barely. Even as this happened though it twisted back to normal shape almost immediately, showing just how futile his onslaught was.

(Current Wealth: 599,252,000) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

"Has reality finally settled in?" Don Karot skidded backwards on his toes for about twenty feet from the power of the cannon. "Do you understand just how useless it really is to oppose a Warlord yet, boy?"

Jason appeared again, this time not moving.

"What's the matter? Have you given up?" Don Karot sneered out. "As long as my private money supply is around me, I am invincible! Haven't you figured that out yet?"

-------------------

00:00:02

-------------------

"I've got a hunch." The Grafter, his body still shuddering in pain from the Overpressure effect, brought his enraged eyes to meet the golden ones of the Warlord. "I don't care who you are. I will make Saika smile, that is not up for discussion!"

"That stupid brat smiles regardless of whether she gets hit or given a piece of candy, so that shouldn't be so hard." The Warlord laughed as Jason roared in rage and flew straight at him. ("Come on then, and let me show you just how hopeless this really is!")

-------------------

00:00:00- Detonating now…

-------------------

Somewhere high above them a mighty explosion roared out, along with the sound of wood and stone being utterly pulverized by what could only be something in the realm of plastic explosives or otherwise.

(Current Wealth: 99,252,000) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

Don Karot's mind instantly recognized the fact that something had happened to his five hundred million in Tem worth of treasures up in his office…and words came back to him.

"_Shut up," The speaker was a girl wearing a large duster over her head and a long dusty brown cloak around her body. "It's not my fault that I had to do a couple of things before I could come down here and bail you two out of this."_

("That girl…this is her doing! My precious treasures…") A roar of rage came from the Warlord's throat and his fist suddenly picked up speed, crashing into the charging Jason's face and crunched him into the floor. "I've played along more than long enough with this game. Apparently I didn't take into account the abilities of your friends, and that just cost me five hundred million Tem!" His face contorted in rage and he stabbed his spiked diamond knuckles into the young man's stomach. "I'll take every single Tem out of your hide, little boy!"

_Time until Five Minute Limit is reached: 20 seconds_

Jason felt the pressure in his skin slowly fade as the Overpressure effect disappeared. "God damn it!" Then a heavy golden arm and elbow slammed into his neck, pinning him to the floor.

"My forty years of work!" Don Karot's spiked hand punctured Jason's stomach again, the view thankfully spared as his huge body was completely holding the Grafter down as he took out his anger on him. "I should never have let you think that you had me beaten, but my own amusement at your flailing told me that I had all the time in the world to watch as you exhausted yourself!"

Another sloppy puncture sound could be heard, and when his arm rose again what should have been glittering jewels that were coming from his knuckles was now a morbid crimson-color, stained by the blood of his victim. "Because of that girl with the hat I've just lost a huge supply of my private funds…all because I spent my time fighting you!" Veins bulging out of his neck, the Warlord's arm punched down again and started to twist. "I'll tear your insides out. Don't you think that maybe I could sell the organs of a Grafter for a pretty high price?"

He got no reply.

"So you passed out, huh?" Don Karot's arm continued to twist slowly, feeling the spikes dig and tear along the flesh they were stuck into. "I'm not normally one for such a gory form of torture, but in your case I'll have to make do with what I've got. Don't worry, I don't care if you passed out from the pain already…I'm sure when you hear Saika's screams at the sight of your dismembered corpse I bet your ghost will come back and haunt me! It's fine though, I've got more than enough money left to hire a priest or two to come and cleanse a few skeleton's from my closet!"

_Time until Five Minute Limit is reached: 10 seconds_

"You're not paying attention, are you?" Jason's fist pressed against the Warlord's chest. "**Heavy Impact Diamond-Cutting Drill!**" A spinning blast of pressure erupted from his arm and sent the Warlord flying upwards in a spiral arc, trailing blood from his arm. (Technique; Vortex Beast Only; Create a spiral piercing attack with your air pressure. If this attack successfully connects then you may place the top card of your deck underneath your Pressure Core.)

"You insolent little…" Don Karot's eyes widened as by the time his vision had stopped spinning he saw that Jason was already standing far below him, his body near the fourth floor balcony of his casino. "How…how can you still be standing? Your body cannot possible support you!"

_Time until Five Minute Limit is reached: 0 seconds_

"You made me miss my five minute deadline…" Jason's nearly gone deck lost another two cards. "It's okay though. Saika had better be outside though, since the gun show is about to start." He said this more to himself than to the Warlord, his head slowly lifting up so he was sure that Don Karot was in position. "Torture is wasted on me, but thanks for being exactly where you needed to be. I'll be ending this duel right now, with one single attack."

"Your little boost effect is over, what can you possibly…"

"There are a total of fifteen cards underneath my Pressure Core; just enough for me to activate this card and shuffle them all back into my deck. It'll make me fifteen times faster and deal fifteen times the normal amount of damage for eight turns." A low rumble erupted from his body as that confident sneer crossed his bloody lips. "Of course considering that my body is already telling me that I can't move, much less use such a technique…"

Jason's body was suddenly bulging and twisting, some of his veins exploding open. The air around him became warped and twisted as most of the pressure that he had released through his circulatory system was escaping through the numerous holes and tears in his flesh. "**Velocity Overpressure Deluxe!**"

"You're insane…" The Warlord stammered out. "You'll die, there's no possible way you could survive this!"

"Yup, I'm dead." Jason smirked coldly. "But for just a few seconds I'm spending what's left of my life to make sure that my promise comes true." He punched the ground and launched upwards so fast he instantly disappeared. "**Heavy Impact…**"

"You fool…" A glittering wall of clear crystal appeared in the air between the two of them. "Diamond Wall…my other Contingency! An impenetrable barrier that costs me one million Tem, but it's worth it for the fact that I'm about to watch you splatter yourself into a barrier made of diamond!"

(Current Wealth: 98,252,000) (3000/7000) Don Karot- 8000/9500

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

"…**Eight Hundred Millimeter Railgun!"** The diamond wall shuddered and flew straight upwards, hitting its master and carrying him like some kind of bizarre flying carpet straight up through the ceiling of the casino. There was nearly zero resistance, the driving force behind the blow equal to the strength of its namesake.

-----------------------------

Alita and Saika both had to cover their ears as a screaming roar of explosive power blew open the very center of Karot's Kingdom, throwing a gigantic wall-shaped diamond and Don Karot into the air. At least it might have been Don Karot and a wall-shaped diamond he was riding on, they weren't sure because it was already far out of sight into the sky.

"What…was that?" Saika started to stand up, and suddenly her tail stood out straight. "There's a tornado coming…we need to get clear!" She grabbed Alita's hand and the bag King had given them, making a run for the tree-line.

---------------------------------

"What an annoying kid…" Don Karot, having lost his diamond wall at some point on his trip into lower orbit, was still moving upwards at the moment. "It doesn't matter though, because there is nothing left of Jason-kun but a bloody smear on my Diamond Wall!" He opened his mouth and started laughing wickedly.

"**Heavy Impact…**" Jason, who had been floating behind the Warlord the entire time, used his arms and wrapped them around Don Karot's waist tightly. Then they turned upside-down and exploded downwards a single blur of gold and silver.

"Let me go!" Don Karot slammed his elbow into the young man's head roughly, but it didn't have any effect. "Let me go, you insolent…"

"**Tornado German Suplex!**" Jason's body screamed in protest as the left side of him released a high-powered jet of pressure that turned their missile-like shape into that of a screw.

------------------------------------

"Why did we have to run so…" Alita looked in the direction of Karot's Kingdom, and her jaw slowly dropped. "I…my goodness…what is…"

Saika wasn't sure what to say either. She did know to drop to her knees and pull Alita down with her though as the sky roared in anger and drove one of its fingers down onto Karot's Kingdom. The building didn't stand the slightest chance as Mother Nature apparently deemed it an eyesore and crushed it into rubble almost instantly.

"It's like the gods decided to smite Karot's Kingdom off the map…" Alita, a magic user of the wind element, could only theorize…but there was only one possible explanation. "Or…or a powerful enough object moving at that speed…"

Her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell to her knees at the same time as Saika at what she saw through the dust and dirt created by the force of nature that completely collapsed the multi-story Karot's Kingdom in on itself.

Somehow, despite the fact that it was evening…a bright glow came from the dead center of the remains of Don Karot's dream…of his stronghold…

"SAI!" Jason slowly stood up to his full height, refusing to fall regardless of the fact that at least half of his body was completely torn into a bloody mess from the abuse it had suffered through his misuse of the Pressure Core. "I know it's not much, but will this do for now?" He motioned behind him.

Don Karot had found his Diamond Wall again…with his head. Jason's suplex had slammed the Warlord's skull right onto the hunk of diamond. The force had shattered the Priceless Body, sending pieces of superheated gold everywhere and leaving the area around them glowing as if it was some kind of presentation specifically for one person. The Warlord of Pleasure's body was sprawled out across the top of his last remaining treasure…right before the magic that held it together disappeared and the wall dissolved, leaving Don Karot with nothing left but the rubble surrounding his broken and bruised body.

The rainbow-haired girl started to tremble, tears streaming down her face as the memories of the last week or so flowed back into her mind. Her happiness at having made a new friend, the numb horror when that friend had suddenly been shot, the fierce determination to protect what that friend had said was going to be all that was left of them, and…strongest of all…the pain. There was no need to bottle up those feelings anymore though….the one who would prey upon them had met the scariest thing she knew of. "Jason…"

Her head crashed to the grass as she bowed as deeply as possible. "THANK YOU!"

"Psh, there's no…need……" The Grafter's eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped like a ton of bricks as his body gave up what little strength it had left.

(Current Wealth: 0) Don Karot- 0

(2500/3000) Jason- 7500/57000

_To be continued…_

_Alita: We need to treat these wounds immediately…they're far too severe! He's lost too much blood though, and I don't think I can save him…_

_Kyris the Hell: Perhaps I could be of assistance?_

_Next Chapter: Deal with the Devil_


	29. Deal with the Devil

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia and everything that is happening in it though, so that's definitely a good thing. Oh yeah, and get ready for a huge hunk of plot in this chapter.

_Location: The Courthouse of Temarocia in Divinia; the country of god and homeland of the Angelics_

The loud banging of a gavel against wood echoed across the cold and foreboding marble walls and pillars of the giant courthouse, signaling the beginning of a time where no other activities were to occur within range of the cavernous main chamber. Guards quickly changed their positions, heading to the upper levels and near the front entrance of the Courthouse so they could not accidentally disturb the meeting of the most influential and wisest minds in Temarocia.

"At this time," A wizened and old voice spoke out, its soft tones amplified by the shape of the room to reach the ears of the gathered robed men and women of the assembly. "The Council of Temarocia will come to order. If you have no business on the main floor then please proceed outside immediately."

A number of shadowed figures left and they closed the heavy iron doors behind them, plunging the room into darkness. That darkness was then destroyed as five giant crystals, one red, one blue, one green, one black and one a glittering gold lit up with a powerful internal light, each one representing one of the five official countries in Temarocia.

They went from one end of the room to the other in a semi-circle in the order of the burning red, then the peaceful blue, the center being the brilliant gold, next to it the vibrant green and at the end the life-stealing pulse of black. In front of each of the crystals was a large pedestal, three of them occupied with the other two conspicuously empty.

Sitting at a very high pedestal behind the hovering gold-colored crystal obelisk was a wizened old man dressed completely in simply white robes. Hunched slightly over his curled and gnarled walking stick, he did not cast that impressive of a sight. The one thing that made him stand out compared to any other old man though were the snow white-feathered wings furled behind his back. (Head Elder of Divinia's Tribes; Galetia)

"Let all those here pledge their lives to the everlasting peace in our holy world of Temarocia. As long as we draw breath we shall do everything in our power to make sure that chaos does not befall all which we cherish." Even though there was no answer to his words, the complete silence in the room spoke volumes of how much this man was revered. Even amongst the scholarly Angelics Galetia was considered to be the most intelligent and gentle. Some even likened him to the incarnation of god on earth.

The tip of his staff reached forward and touched the smooth marble of his pedestal a couple of times. "As was the first subject of our last council, we shall begin with a discussion of what to do about the country of magic, Evangela. As it had been for the last few years there is still no elected representative from the country here to represent Mudeia or even the agricultural communities. The five Holy Guardians of the city are still in a state of war-time readiness in case one of the most dangerous threats amongst these Warlords which are assaulting them attacks. Therefore the floor is open to whoever wishes to speak on this matter."

"I shall speak." Standing atop the ebony pillar positioned in front of the black crystal stood a raven-haired man dressed in fine velvet clothing. He was the picture of intelligence and refinement, a noble amongst nobles. At his side was a hovering claymore made of black steel, the sheathed weapon floating of its own accord directly behind its master. (Top Negotiator of the High Nobles of Tenebrosa; Feijonevf Aremorda)

"The floor recognizes the Top Negotiator of the Demon Nation." Galetia stepped back a little bit, no malice in his tone despite the constant distrust between the Angelics and the Demons.

Feijonevf stepped forward at the same time that the Angelic withdrew, making sure that all eyes were turned to him as he began to speak in a voice cultured beyond words. "Tenebrosa is appalled at how easily a pinnacle of magical knowledge such as Mudeia could be subjugated by a mere child. It is common consensus amongst the ten Demon Barons that we would be willing to send in our best assassins and dispose of this 'Kyris the Hell' post-haste."

"That cannot be allowed." A new voice echoed out from a different pillar. "Mudeia has not come forward to request such a service, and to do such a thing without permission would be declaring an act of war." Bathed in the light of the blue crystal stood a man dressed in a long-tailed suit, his long white mustache and beard braided in front. (Head of Tuletian Military; Five-Virtue General Mikhail Sergeievich Gorbachev)

For a moment the brilliant ice-blue eyes of the General and the violet slotted irises of the Head Negotiator met, and it seemed as if they were about start arguing.

Galetia coughed into his hand sharply. "General Gorbachev, correct me if I am mistaken but Negotiator Aremorda has the floor at this time."

"Perhaps he does," The thick Russian accent that didn't seem to fit the aged man it was attached to barked out. "But that is no excuse for declaring such cowardice with conviction."

The Demon narrowed his eyes dangerously, the floating of the sword at his side growing more and more erratic. "Would you care to explain to me just what part of my statement was 'cowardice'?"

"The use of Assassins may be a specialty of Tenebrosa's nobles but that is not how we deal with problems in Tuletia." The General pounded a fist into his hand for emphasis on the next few words. "A powerful show of military force will result in no bloodshed whatsoever. If we let this Kyris know that his actions will not be tolerated by the rest of Temarocia then he will back down. No one is foolish enough to challenge the top Gunmen of the Tuletian military."

"Your solution offers no more possibility than mine at this time though, Gorbachev." Feijonevf's sword stopped its wild dance and went back to a relaxed hover at his side as the Negotiator's tone calmed. "For now we will be unable to prove whose method works best until Mudeia comes forth and asks for the assistance of the other nations."

Off to his side a small rolled-up scroll appeared which he casually reached over to grasp and open. After his eyes skimmed over the words written on it, his lips quirked in a strange smile before the piece of parchment burst into flames, instantly destroyed without leaving even a single bit of ash behind. "I have just received word from my information network that says one of the seven Warlords in Evangela, Don Karot, was just defeated."

A series of surprised gasps came from the lower court as it exploded into scattered bits of conversation about this, most of the picked up words being about what kind of military force had done it.

Galetia banged the tip of his staff against the pillar at his feet sharply. "That's enough. Negotiator, would you please elaborate on how this happened? Who or what in Evangela managed to defeat one of the four counsels of the man that terrorized all of Temarocia with his evil?"

"A single man…" The Demon nearly laughed as most of the lower galleries sounded incredulous of such a thing, but caught himself. "A Grafter, who according to my sources, is more than likely the son of the most unlikely candidate..." There was a tone hidden behind his words that some of the higher senators gathered picked up.

However, he didn't expand upon the last part. "From the looks of it there is an independent force moving about Evangela defeating the Warlords alongside the heir of the Mudeian throne, Alita Meijer."

"I see…" Galetia banged his staff against his ivory pedestal. "For now we will place this topic on hold and move onto the next then."

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 29: Deal with the Devil

"Jason!" Alita dropped down to the side of the collapsed young man. "Can you hear me?" When she got no response her hands worked quickly to remove his vest so she could place her ear on his bloody chest. ("His heart isn't beating…")

Saika slowly inched towards the remains of Karot's Kingdom, finding it difficult to believe that she wasn't dreaming. "Is it really over? Did he really beat him?"

"_Vous condamner Jason!_" A cracking noise came from a pile of stone and wood debris as King exploded into view, disheveled and absolutely exhausted-looking. "You didn't need to bring the whole place down on my head!"

"King!" Alita shouted loudly, currently trying to forcibly get the Grafter's heart started again. "Get over here and help me! We have to resuscitate him and get him bandaged up. He's lost too much blood!"

"I'm on my way, my angel!" His disgruntled temper gone in an instant, the heart-eyed fake Frenchman skipped over towards the magician.

Saika inched closer to the fallen form of Don Karot, poking the unmoving man with a stick she had picked up on the way to him. "Is he alive?" When a low groan came from the Warlord she squeaked and dropped the stick, doing a flying-leap that got her behind King. "He's still alive!"

"It seems I am," The Warlord whispered out quietly, his eyes looking up at the night sky as he sat up. "My Priceless Body was completely beaten…amazing…"

"Crap…" King leapt to his feet and turned to face Don Karot. "Saika, help Alita bandage that suicidal fool up before he dies. I'll take care of Mr. Karot."

"Can you accomplish such a thing, Mr. King?" Picking up a shard from what had been his originally invincible armor, the Warlord closed his eyes and in a flash of light the single shard transformed into a sword of gold. "Despite how powerful I'm sure Jason-kun's attack seemed, physically I am unharmed. My Priceless Body guarded me until the end of its life. Now step aside while I finish my fight with him."

After a few moments King shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled out of the way. "Both of you get away from him right now."

"What are you talking about?" Alita screamed in confusion and surprise. "You're going to let him die? He can't fight anymore, King! It's not possible with his body, no matter how much willpower he has!"

"Angel, if you're truly a member of the Freaks Gang then you'll move." The fake Frenchman lit up a cigarette and dropped into a crouch, looking extremely displeased. "Jason wanted this fight to be a fight to the end. If you don't respect that wish of his then I hope you're ready to fight the guy next if he survives."

"…" Arms trembling, Alita didn't move. "I won't accept this. He beat you, Don Karot. Accept that loss and walk away with your health and your life!"

"I'm afraid I can't let it go that easily, my dear." The Warlord, dressed in only his golden boxers, was a very strange sight indeed. And yet somehow, despite his lack of clothing, he managed to keep his dignity about him. "I will respect Jason-kun's wish and keep fighting until one of us is completely defeated."

"Then you won, he can't possibly…" Alita stopped in mid-sentence and her eyes widened in terror as she saw a familiar form approaching through the remains of the Warlord's stronghold. ("Not now, please. Not now…")

"It seems that we have quite the little party going on over here." The sound of a pair of boots crunching through shattered glass and stone could be heard. "It appears that your so-called invincible defense and your stronghold have been destroyed, Don Karot."

The Warlord's arms dropped to his sides, and he slowly turned to face the shadowed figure that was approaching. "Have you come to gloat, brat? If so, then at least wait until I've finished my battle."

Stepping into the meager light created by the still-molten hunks of gold melted to certain parts of the ground and debris, Kyris the Hell ran a hand through a lock of his crimson hair and smiled happily. "Unfortunately no, that's not quite why I'm here. Actually I'm here because I'm bored and you just happen to be on the verge of killing the most entertaining thing in this country."

He was wearing a suit of light crimson armor around his chest region and had his fencing saber hanging in its sheath at his hip, but otherwise didn't seem like he had come to fight. "You see, the man you are standing over is of some interest to me. Therefore, I cannot allow him to die after having put so much effort into beating you."

"So you would try to kill me instead?" The War Merchant aimed his sword at the young Warlord's chest.

"I'm sure Jason would have no problems with being saved…" Kyris stopped as he heard a loud gasp for air behind Don Karot. "Oh, he's still conscious?"

Alita paled as Jason started to stand up. "Please…you won…" When she realized he wasn't listening to her at all it seemed as if she was on the verge of pushing him back to the ground. "Your body is on the verge of breaking, Jason! Please stop fighting!"

"So…you're…Kyris…" The Grafter gasped out, halfway into a standing position before his knees popped out of joint and he fell onto his stomach. "Don't…interfere…in…my…fight…"

"And that's how it is." Don Karot added, turning to face the fallen Jason with a serious expression on his face. "Now then, Jason-kun, let us bring this battle to its final closing!"

King and Saika had gone silent, though in King's case it seemed that the moment Jason truly lost consciousness he was going to leap in and flatten the Warlord's skull in with a kick.

"I see…" Kyris smiled out. "It's nice to see you're such a man of honor, Jason…"

Every muscle in Alita's body told her to leap in and save Jason while she still could. ("He's not thinking clearly, he's delirious and shouldn't still be conscious anyway. I need to stop this, I have to save him…") No matter what reasons she could think up though, her body wouldn't move. ("Why? Why aren't I moving to stop this?")

"However…" Kyris added in, hand falling to the hilt of his saber. "**_Treibenden Spatz_**."

Alita understood, in that one moment, why her body had refused to move. It was a reminder of more than any reason as to why a fifteen year old boy was the lone cause of terror across her mother's kingdom.

Don Karot's forward motion was stopped. He smiled, lines of blood running down the sides of his cheeks. "Step aside, Kyris. I have a man's duel to finish."

King and Saika both were wide-eyed in amazement, as they weren't completely sure what the Warlord had been talking about…until their brains caught up to what was happening.

At one point or another Kyris had moved in front of Don Karot, and had run his saber through the slit in the other man's ribs. "Apparently you are under the impression that I'm still the sniveling little boy which was afraid of my father. Well that's the thing, Karot…"

He blinked once, and when his eyes opened again the red orbs were glowing brightly. "You and those other old fools aren't even in my league anymore. Yet you expect me to sit back and wait for you, though you do not have my respect? For that, I seem to have no choice but to do away with you."

"…" Don Karot tilted his head to one side to look at the fallen Jason. "I apologize Jason-kun; it seems that I cannot end this battle with you."

Kyris slowly brought his left palm up to aim directly at the bronze-skinned man. "**_Höllenwelle_**!" A roaring blast of blood-red fire erupted from his palm and spread out in front of him like the beam of a spotlight. After a few seconds the flames faded to reveal that Don Karot was gone, and everything that had been hit by the fire had been razed beyond recognition.

Saika twitched a couple of times and fell down onto her butt, unsure whether to cry out in fear or amazement. "He…he just destroyed…Don Karot…"

King growled and stood up, tossing his cigarette into the fan of ash that had been burnt into the ground past Kyris. "I'm going to drop these Iron Cotton shoes of mine on your head for doing that. You would dare to ruin a man's duel because of your own childish whims?"

"Yes I would." Kyris smirked superiorly. "What are you going to do about it? Will you try to beat me? If you couldn't even beat my top servant, King, then what makes you think anything done by you will take me down?" He sheathed his saber slowly, showing that he wasn't afraid of the man. "Did I not just do your fair rainbow-haired friend a favor by purging that piece of greedy filth from this planet?"

"That's not the point." King said calmly, hands in his pockets.

"Then what is?" Kyris retorted.

"It looks like…" Jason muttered out as he pushed himself up on his elbows. "Today's going to be a busy day."

"What was…" The young Warlord turned to ask what Jason was talking about. Then his eyes snapped wide right before he saw stars as the normal Jason used what little strength he had left to headbutt the young Walord in the nose.

Crashing to the ground, Jason panted in pain and popped one of his knees back into joint with a sickening crack. "Because of you the promise I was going to uphold to Saika can't be fulfilled. Kyris the Hell, get ready to lose."

"Coming from a guy that probably doesn't have enough blood in his body to fill a flash I find that extremely hard to take seriously." Kyris stood up, not too badly harmed from the cheap shot. "Apparently I'm going to have to teach you a couple of lessons in manners, Jason."

"Anytime, dirt…" The Grafter collapsed face-first to the ground, twitching with a huge lump on his forehead. "Ow…"

Rubbing some blood from his knuckles, the young Warlord sighed in disappointment. "It seems I'm going to have to give you some better motivation to fight me, Jason." He turned to Alita casually. "Come along, Princess, I'm taking you with me."

"What did you just say?" King launched to his feet and snapped his leg up to drive his heel into the Warlord's head. "_Charger a…_"

"**_Spatzbankett_**." The air around Kyris twisted and exploded in the form of a hundred darts of air, though the cause of it was unknown. Each of those darts struck King at nearly the same time and sent him back the way he had come. "Now then, Princess, the choice is that you either come with me as a hostage or that I kill either King or Saika. I'm trying to determine which one of them is weakest though, so it's kind of a toss-up."

"Eh?" Saika skidded backwards until she found a pile of debris to hide behind. "I'm not a fighter really! Don't get me involved!"

"Right, King it is then." Kyris didn't really care, and killing a girl was rather unpleasant business anyway. "So, my ex-servant, are you ready to give up your life?" He drew his sword out of its sheath…

The fake Frenchman's leg came crashing down and forced it right back into place before it could leave. "Yo, Kyris," He had a series of veins bulging out of his neck and forehead, a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth, and his 'scary' face on. "You've got some nerve trying to use me as a method to extort my delicate little flower." His face got dangerously close to the Warlord's. "_Voulez-vous que vous j'aie montré ce qu'arrive quand je fais ressortir mes techniques ultimes, eh?_"

"I have no idea what you just said," Kyris returned the look, making the scene seem rather comical instead of tense. "But I know I don't like how you said it. So how about I…"

"No." Alita declared loudly, standing up. "King…"

("As I expected,") Kyris thought coldly. ("Alita Meijer hasn't changed at all. Now be a good boy and stand down, you weird bowl-hair.")

The blond-haired girl sneered coldly. "Make sure to get at least two groin shots in on him, please?"

"_Je vise à plaire, mon ange!_" The fake Frenchman shoved his hands into his pockets. "Let's get this started, shall we Kyris?"

"It seems…" Kyris turned partially to look at Alita. "That the little Princess who originally didn't want anyone to die has grown up a bit in the company of these nutcases."

"My dream is to see you fall." Alita picked up her staff, getting ready to assist King as much as she could. "Until that time comes I will not take the title of Princess, not until I've done something for the good of the people!"

"Then be a martyr, I suppose. I wanted to avoid killing you but it seems that if you are going to act like Jason I have no choice." Kyris snapped his left palm up to aim at her. "**_Höllenwelle!_**" Another roaring fan-shaped blast of red fire erupted from his hand, with the blond-haired magician in the exact center of its path.

"Alita!" King shouted, turning on one heel and grabbing his right shin with his right hand. ("I've got no choice but to use that attack!") "**_L'ode en France…_**"

"**Shadow Sword Style; Gates of the Underworld!**" The wave of red fire was intercepted by a similar-shaped blast of black energy, the two colliding and nullifying each other instantly.

Kyris lifted an eyebrow inquisitively, a similar expression on King's face as well.

"I apologize humbly for being late, Alita." Flair sheathed his katana and stood alongside the profusely sweating girl. "You weren't scared, were you?"

"M…me? Scared?" She started laughing haughtily, her knees shaking visibly at the same time. "I wasn't scared at all! I…I…" Her fear changed to anger as she hit him over the head with her staff. "Where were you?"

"I apologize." The samurai said again, rubbing the top of his head gingerly. "So Kyris the Hell is here huh?" He turned to look at the Warlord. "Good evening to you, Lord of the Hell Plague. Would you possibly consider leaving for now? We've had a very long day."

"Unfortunately I cannot do that." Kyris grabbed the handle of his saber. "If I do, then my primary source of enjoyment may get away."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Jason asked curiously, sitting atop a pile of rubble in the molten glow of his Curse-Eater Graft. "If you just wanted to fight then how about we duel instead? I'm way too freaking hungry to fight another Warlord right now."

"You could heal yourself from those wounds?" King, Alita, and Saika all shouted at him in anger. "We were worried about you for nothing?"

"Huh?" The Grafter shook his head back and forth. "That's not it, I forgot I could heal myself by switching Grafts. It's pretty handy…"

Alita slapped her forehead with a hand and fell backwards into Flair. "I can't believe I forgot that…"

"Aren't you a bit low on blood though?" King motioned to the huge puddle of blood on the ground where Jason had been lying.

"That's not a problem either." Jason broke into a fit of laughter. "When I was dying I realized that Curse-Eater was a big lava snail."

"…A lava snail?" Saika and King tilted their heads to the side at the same time, huge question marks above them.

"A type of mollusk that's fluids are made entirely of molten rock…" Alita slapped her forehead and looked around at their surroundings. "Of course! You transfused the molten gold into your system!"

"Bingo." The Grafter leapt off the pile of debris and motioned to the healthy golden glow coming from his skin. "It's kind of weird, being able to drink stuff that should burn my stomach from the inside-out, but also pretty handy." He pounded his chest with a hand. "I'm in tip-top shape again!"

A loud rumbling came from his stomach and he covered it with one hand, sighing. "Except I'm starving! Alita, let's stop for lunch."

"It's EVENING!" The blond-haired girl retorted loudly. "Plus we aren't even moving! How can we stop?"

"That's besides the point." Jason nodded sagely at his own logic…which only he seemed too understand. "I say we should stop for lunch, and since I'm the leader of the Freaks Gang because I'm the strongest fighter…" His knees bent sharply and he was suddenly crouching as King cracked him in the skull with a heel. "…I'm making it an order."

"Ummm….hello?" Kyris called out, waving at Jason. "I thought we might actually fight sometime before the sun rose…"

"You're not the strongest!" King grabbed Jason by the front of his tunic and got face to face with him. "You had to go all out to beat Don Karot, and you think that you're a match for me? You're a hundred years too early to talk like that, or have you forgotten how many times I've had to save you from a group of common thugs?"

"HEY!" The young Warlord shouted at them both.

"That was before I became a Grafter! Now I'm way too powerful for you to even think about beating me!" Jason banged his forehead into King's and the two started to push against each other. "Or do you think that you can match me in a fight?"

"Pay attention when people are trying to kill you!" Kyris slammed his sheathed saber over the Grafter's head with a crack. "Or would you like me to take my anger out on Alita?"

"That won't be necessary." Jason turned to face the Warlord with a sneer on his face. "I'll duel you, since I'm way too hungry for a fight right now. How does that sound?"

"That sounds just fine." Kyris's Carrier appeared around his arm and he slid a dueling deck home into it.

"Our argument isn't done yet!" King brought his leg up…

"King, let's get out of here!" Alita yelled at the fake Frenchman, who turned and skipped over to her with hearts in his eyes. "Jason, are you going to be okay?"

"I should be fine." The Grafter glanced over at Flair. "Hey Accessory, where'd you come from?"

"I came from the Region Transit." The samurai turned to look at Alita. "We're in luck, there is a train leaving in two hours. We can get there in about twenty minutes if we hurry."

"We can't just leave Jason!" The magician protested.

"Don't worry about me!" Jason gave her a thumbs-up. "I'll be just fine. Hurry up and make a run for whatever that thing is. How do you find it?"

"Should you really bother asking her that?" Kyris questioned, a sneer on his face. "You'll have to beat me in a duel, and if what I've seen of your dueling deck up to this point is any indication then that won't be happening."

"That won't be a problem." Jason held up a deck of cards and inserted it into his Carrier, which appeared around his arm. "I'll have to use my sure-fire deck against you, but I will win because of it."

"What?" King roared. "That one deck?"

"Of course." The Grafter smiled. "It's got the best odds of winning. Go on ahead Alita, take Saika and King to whatever this train thing is. I'll catch up to you guys later."

"…I understand!" Alita nodded to Flair. "Let's go, show me the way please. Come on King! Saika!"

Kyris watched the four of them leave with a disappointed look on his face. "You challenged me to a duel so that they could get away?"

"That's part of it." Jason drew his opening hand. "Plus I wanted to try and disable you so you couldn't chase us. We're not quite ready to overthrow you yet, after all."

Jason- 8000

Kyris- 8000

"Indeed…" Kyris copied his opponent's movements. "Then it's time to duel, wouldn't you say?"

_To be continued…_

_Kyris: It seems that you've been the cause for many of my more recent problems, now haven't you Jason? Thanks to you Alita believes that she can somehow defeat me._

_Jason: She will defeat you! She'll defeat you because she's a member of the Freak Gang and you're making a mess of her life!_

_Kyris: Those words may move the hearts of your other opponents, but against me it is futile. Duel!_

_Next Chapter: Red and Five-Point Clash _


	30. Red and Five Point Clash

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 30: Red and Five-Point Clash

_Jason- 8000 _

_Kyris- 8000_

"_Indeed…" Kyris copied his opponent's movements. "Then it's time to duel, wouldn't you say?"_

"Oh yeah, I would!" Jason drew the top card of his deck and threw a different one in front of him, it disappearing in a flash of light. "I summon Five-Point Cleric in defense mode." A man wearing gray armor with dull holes for symbols on it and holding a mace appeared on his field in a crouching position. (1300/1500)

"When this card is summoned I may discard one monster from my hand. If the discarded monster's attribute is one of the ones printed on this card then the listed effect on my Cleric is activated! I discard Earth Supplemental!" The Cleric turned brown, hunks of rock floating around its body. "When an earth attribute monster is discarded this card gains 800 defense points." (1300/2300)

"Also," His Earth Supplemental left his graveyard. "When a Supplemental monster is sent from my hand to the graveyard by the effect of a Five-Point card I may either choose to return it to my hand or draw one card. I'll be taking it back for now. End turn."

Kyris snickered and drew. "So you start with a defense. I assume it is to determine just what kind of deck I run?" He threw the card in front of him and it appeared face-down on his field. "I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

("That's it?") Jason shrugged and drew from his deck. "I activate the magic card Symbol of Ice." The card he had drawn was glowing brightly before it faded away. "This card can only be activated when I have a water monster in play but with it I can destroy one set card on your field."

Kyris barely flinched as his set monster exploded, torn to shreds by a storm of icy missiles. "Red Bat, when destroyed, special summons another of itself from my deck to the field in face-down defense mode." Another monster appeared face-down on his field in place of the earlier one.

"End turn." Jason could no longer hear the others. Instead all he could hear was the beating of his own heart. ("I wonder if they're all okay…") One look at Kyris though told him that this guy liked to travel alone. ("Besides, even if he did have help King's with them. He can take care of one or two low-lives.")

"Draw." Kyris folded his hand up and crossed his arms. "End turn."

"…Right…" Jason drew. "And…end turn…" He looked around, and could swear that he heard snoring.

Kyris drew, ignoring the fact that his opponent was spacing out. ("Jason seems to find this method of dueling boring…") That meant everything was going according to plan. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Draw." Jason threw the card in front of him and it became a man dressed in grey clothing holding a pair of daggers. "I summon Five-Point Thief in attack mode. When this monster is summoned I discard one monster from my hand, and just like my Cleric if it has the same kind of attribute in its text as the discarded card then it gets the printed effect in its text next to that attribute. In other words, I discard my Earth Supplemental again and return it to my hand with its effect."

His Thief turned a dull shade of brown. (300/800) "This card can already attack directly regardless of what it does, but now when it deals you life point damage you discard one card from the top of your deck! Direct attack!" The thief launched forward and slashed the Warlord across the chest, or tried to anyway. When it got close there was a loud clang noise and its charge was deflected.

("Did he block the attack?") Jason shrugged to himself. If Kyris moved so fast that he couldn't even track it then there was no reason to worry. ("It still does the damage though, regardless of what he does to stop it.")

Jason- 8000

Kyris- 7700

Kyris slid the top card of his deck into his graveyard. "Is that all?" When Jason nodded he drew. "I place one more card face-down and end my turn." A second set card appeared alongside his first. "You look bored, Jason. Is everything alright?"

"Not really, but whatever." The Grafter drew and his eyes widened in excitement. "Finally! I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" In a flash of lightning a yellow and blue-suited superhero appeared on his field. "Alright, it's time to show you what my Five-Point E-Hero Combination Deck can do!" (1600/1400)

"Five-Point E-Hero?" Kyris clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, looking rather unconvinced. "Right, I'll keep that in mind."

"Sparkman, attack now!" Jason smirked as the superhero unleashed a blast of lightning and shattered the set Red Bat. "And now you summon another one, right?"

"Correct." Another set monster appeared on Kyris's field right before the Warlord was hit by the Five-Point Thief, the top card of his deck sliding into the graveyard.

Jason- 8000

Kyris- 7400

"I set one card face-down, end turn." Jason pounded his chest with a fist triumphantly. "Hah, now that I've gotten one of these Elemental Heroes in play you don't stand a chance."

Kyris looked at Sparkman, then at Jason. "…" He sweatdropped and drew. "I'll keep that in mind too." One look at the drawn card told him what he wanted to know about his next move. "Jason, while it's been amusing watching you play up to this point I'm about to go on the attack. Reverse card open, Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Jason gasped as his set card was hit by a blast of wind and destroyed. "My Five-Point Cyclone!"

"Next up," A card appeared on Kyris's field. "I activate the continuous magic card Precious Cards from Beyond. While this card is in effect I draw two cards whenever a level seven or higher monster is tribute summoned to my field."

"And now," Kyris removed a card from his graveyard. "I activate the magic card Red Sacrifice, removing one monster from my graveyard. One monster with Red in its name that is in my hand can be summoned for one fewer sacrifice during this turn. I remove Red Bat and then offer my set Red Bat to summon…" A red-shadowed form rose up from the ground slowly and roared loud enough to shake the ground around it. "One of my favorites, the ultimate creature which obeys my command…Hell-Eyes Red Dragon!" (2600/2100)

"Hell-Eyes Red Dragon?" Jason looked up at the towering red-bodied dragon in a rather unimpressed fashion. "That's not really too scary, when you think about it…"

"Hell-Eyes Red Dragon, attack Sparkman!" Kyris licked his lips as the crimson-eyed beast released a blast of fire which swallowed up the superhero and dissolved it. "When Hell-Eyes Red Dragon destroys a monster as a result of battle, you take that monster's attack in damage to your life points."

"…Oh, that's why it's scary." Jason noticed he was currently on fire, but since his Fire Graft was still on he didn't really feel it. "I guess my skin would be boiling if I was me right now, huh?"

Jason- 5400

Kyris- 7400

"I'm not done yet." Kyris held up a card. "I discard Red Devil from my hand when my Red monster destroys a monster of yours as a result of battle. It may attack again! Hell-Eyes Red Dragon, attack Five-Point Thief!" The dragon howled and released another burst of its flame, destroying the brown-colored man next.

Jason- 2800

Kyris- 7400

"And once more, I discard another Red Devil!" Kyris pointed at the Five-Point Cleric. "Disappear along with your master!" His dragon released one more blast of fire and destroyed the brown-colored Cleric, leaving Jason's field clear.

Jason- 1500

Kyris- 7400

"End turn." Kyris crossed his arms across his chest once more, this time with a confident smirk on his face. "Well, do you feel like this duel is still boring?"

"No, I guess not." Jason drew, though because of the fact he was immune to fire the threat of a fire-breathing dragon was kind of null and void. "I summon Five-Point Soldier in attack mode!" A grey warrior holding a shield and sword appeared on his field. (1800/500)

"If you think I'm afraid of your little monster though, then you've got another thing coming!" He discarded a card from his hand. "I give up my Wind Supplemental, giving my Soldier his wind effect and drawing a card!" The warrior turned a shade of green. "With this effect I can discard one magic card from my hand to send one monster on the field back to your hand! I discard Symbol of Sun to bounce that big lizard back where it belongs!"

Kyris's eyes flicked to his hand as the Hell-Eyes Red Dragon faded from his field and its card returned to his grasp.

"Also I activate the magic card Symbol of Sand, which can only be activated when I have an earth attribute monster in play!" Jason pointed at the Precious Cards from Beyond. "One face-up magic or trap card in play is destroyed and for the rest of this turn magic and trap cards can't be activated!" A blast of grit flew across the field from his card and wore the continuous magic card away. "Soldier, attack his life points directly!"

Kyris side-stepped the sword strike aimed for his head with ease. "Do you think you've stopped me just from returning my dragon to my hand?"

Jason- 1500

Kyris- 5400

"End turn!" Jason grinned. "Naw, try and bring your dragon out again. I don't mind if you do."

"If I do then I'll be able to easily defeat you in just one hit. You have no set traps after all." Kyris drew. "I first activate the field magic card Hell Plague Castle!" Behind him a giant red aura-lined castle rose up into the sky amongst the ruins that had been Don Karot's domain. "While this field is in play all monsters gain 500 attack points, but cost 500 life points to attack with!" (Five-Point Soldier- 2300/500)

A magic card appeared on his field. "Next I activate Red Judgment, which destroys a monster that has 2000 or more attack points." Five-Point Soldier exploded. "Also the controller of that monster takes 500 points of damage. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Jason- 1000

Kyris- 5400

Jason drew, adding the card to his hand swiftly. ("Things are finally moving at a slightly faster pace.") "During my standby phase Symbol of Sun activates its effect. For every light attribute monster in my graveyard I gain 100 life points." A faint white light appeared around him.

Jason- 1100

Kyris- 5400

One look at the drawn card told him all he needed to know. "I summon Five-Point Paladin in attack mode!" A grey knight holding a heavy warhammer appeared on his field. (1100/1800) "I discard Earth Supplemental to draw one card and power this guy's defense up by 800." (1100/2600) "Paladin, attack his life points directly!"

Kyris side-stepped the knight's attack. "Another miss, Jason. If you intend to disable me then you'll have to try harder than that."

Jason- 600

Kyris- 4300

"Well if you'd stop moving then it wouldn't be all that difficult, would it?" The Grafter stomped the ground a couple of times. "Can't you just hold still and take what's coming to you like a man?"

"I'm not stupid, unlike some who currently stand near me." The young Warlord drew from his deck and added the card to his hand. "If you weren't stupid you might realize that you only have a monster in play that has an attack which might as well be 1100 while having only 600 life points remaining. If I summon a monster with 1700 or more attack points in this turn then I win."

"That might be the case," Jason laughed out. "But I don't think that's what is going to happen. After all, why would it end that quickly?"

Kyris frowned and held up a magic card. "I first activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck." Pulling two new cards off of his deck, he added them to his hand and held up a different card. "Now I activate Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two." Sliding a trio of cards off of his deck he inserted his Hell-Eyes Red Dragon and another card into his graveyard. "And now I show you why you miscalculated."

"Sure, show me." Jason didn't sound like he cared too much either way.

"You should treat this duel a bit more seriously, even if my Hell-Eyes Red Dragon can't hurt you." Kyris threw a card from his hand to the ground and it slid into the dirt. "I activate the equipment magic card Premature Burial, reviving one monster from my graveyard and equipping it with this card at the cost of 800 life points." His Hell-Eyes Red Dragon appeared on the field with another roar. (3100/2100)

"This duel is over." The young Warlord pointed at the Paladin. "Hell-Eyes Red Dragon, attack now." The giant creature belched out another explosion of fire which washed over the monster and dissolved it.

Jason- 600

Kyris- 3000

"It's a shame," Jason lamented through the blood-red fires that burned around him, "That all damage through my Paladin is zero. Plus, when he goes to the graveyard all effect damage to me is zero for the turn. In other words, he easily stands fast against your assault."

"That's rather convenient for your survival," Kyris sighed melodramatically. "End turn."

Jason drew from his deck. "At this time Symbol of Sun increases my life points by 200 for my Sparkman and Paladin in the graveyard." Then he threw the card in front of him, a blue-armored superhero appearing on his field in a blast of bubbles. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode!" (800/1200) "When this monster is summoned and I have no cards in play I get to draw twice!"

"So you do, but summoning your monster in attack mode was a mistake." Kyris tilted his head over at his Hell-Eyes. "My servant will crush this strange creature that you have summoned."

"We'll see about that." Jason grabbed a card from his hand. "It's time for my counterattack to begin. I play Graceful Charity, drawing three cards from my deck and then discarding two." Now that his hand was adjusted properly, he was ready to make his move for real. "I just discarded Elemental Hero Featherman and Symbol of Breeze, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't," The Warlord replied coldly.

"That's too bad." Jason held up a magic card. "I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production, adding two normal monsters from my graveyard to my hand!" Removing his Sparkman and Featherman from his graveyard, the Grafter held up a magic card. "I activate the magic card Five-Point Fusion!" A red aura lit up around him momentarily. (JLP: 300)

("He would pay life points this late in the game?") Kyris watched Bubbleman slowly get lifted into the sky, a pulsing five-point symbol floating behind it. "Fusion, eh?"

"That's right." Jason held up Sparkman and Featherman, the two cards fading away. "I fuse the Bubbleman and the two heroes I recovered to summon Elemental Hero Tempest!" A winged superhero with a blaster attached to its right arm appeared from within the five-point symbol. (2800/2800)

"2800?" Kyris lifted his eyebrow at the new monster. "What will that accomplish?"

"Listen up and I'll tell you!" Three points of the symbol started to glow. "Five-Point Fusion, for every different attribute of monster used as a material besides dark, powers up the final product by 300 attack points! That's light, wind, and water!" (3700/2800) "And then your field magic card works its wonders." (4200/2800)

"Have you forgotten that you need to pay 500 life points to attack?" Kyris snickered. "Power means nothing if you can't pay for its cost."

"I didn't forget." Jason lifted up his Carrier, a pair of cards sliding out of it. "I remove two cards from my graveyard to special summon Five-Point Archer in defense mode." A grey-dressed bow woman appeared on his field in a crouching position. (900/1300)

"And with that in play I can play this!" Another magic card appeared on his field and the red flame aura around Tempest grew stronger. "Symbol of Fire can only be played when I have a fire attribute monster in play! One monster on my field, for this turn, gains 1000 attack points!" (5200/2800)

"I don't really see what you can fight back with. Or do you not realize that your power…"

"You talk more than freakin' Rick, shut up already." Jason's last card disappeared and he started to glow, motes of light coming up from the ground and entering his body. "I activate the magic card The Living World. For every different Symbol card in my graveyard I gain 500 life points, but if there are three or more then it becomes 800 per card instead." (JLP: 4300)

"So you've recovered from being in the red, eh?" Kyris frowned. "I suggest you don't think that this has changed anything."

"Tempest, attack Hell-Eyes Red Dragon! Chaos Tempest!" The flaming superhero lifted his blaster and unleashed a roaring wave of red and blue energy that hit the dragon and blew it apart. "You're just lucky I can't special summon Archer in attack mode. End turn." (4200/2800)

Jason- 3800

Kyris- 900

Kyris pointed at the ground at his feet, which was starting to churn. "I think that you're getting just a little too confident for your own good." One of his set cards flipped up, and a blood-red aura erupted around his body. "I activate Hidden Self, discarding one card from my hand to revive my Dragon with 600 more attack points!" The Hell-Eyes Red Dragon reappeared in play and snarled in anger at having been destroyed. (3700/2100)

"And now," The young Warlord drew. "You run monsters similar to that Seer…and just like him I'll tear you apart! I activate the effect of the card I discarded for the cost of Hidden Self! Its name is Red Sun!" His Hell-Eyes hissed in delight as a glowing red mote of light appeared over its head. "During my standby phase I can select one Red monster in play and power it up by 300 attack points." (4000/2100)

A woman dressed in red leather and holding a red leather whip appeared alongside the dragon. "I summon Red Trainer in attack mode. (400/500)-(900/500) When this monster in summoned one other Red monster on my field gains 500 attack points." (4500/2100)

("Oh great, he's got a monster stronger than Tempest.") Jason hadn't expected to control the duel just like that, but for Kyris to have so quickly recovered was a miracle…or a calamity in his case.

"Hell-eyes Red Dragon, attack Tempest now!" The red-scaled beast opened its jaws and released a roaring fireball that crashed into the superhero and pushed him back a few feet. "He wasn't destroyed?"

"Nope." Jason was holding Five-Point Archer's card, which he inserted into his graveyard. "I can send a card from my field to my graveyard to make Tempest unable to be destroyed as a result of battle."

Jason- 3500

Kyris- 400

Kyris held up a magic card. "If I want something to die, then it dies! I activate the magic card Red Murder Feast! If a Red monster on my field attacked and was unable to destroy a monster of yours as a result of battle, then I may destroy one monster you have in play and gain its attack in life!" Tempest shattered. (KLP: 4600) "End turn."

Jason glanced at his deck and then at the rather spacious amount of room between his field and Kyris'. ("I've got nothing left and that guy is still holding two cards in his hand. Plus he's got a card face-down on his field.")

Kyris blinked at the fact his opponent was smiling. "What are you so happy about? Didn't you just lose your best monster?"

"Tempest wasn't my best." Jason drew and held up Pot of Greed. "I'll be drawing two cards, just like you did earlier." Two cards left his deck and then appeared on his field face-down. "I set one card and one monster. End turn."

Kyris drew and threw a card in front of him, a red suit of armor holding a bloody sword appearing on his field. "I summon Red Blade in attack mode!" (1800/500)- (2300/500) "Red Blade, attack the set monster now! Massacre Slash!" The armor flew forward and cut through the set monster easily. (KLP: 4100)

"The monster you destroyed was my Five-Point Guardian, which when destroyed as a result of battle and sent to my graveyard lets me add one Symbol and one attribute of monster that fits its requirement to my hand." Two cards slid out of his graveyard and he added them to his hand. "And then I activate my set Hero Signal, special summoning a level four or lower Elemental Hero from my deck or hand to the field!" A block-bodied humanoid appeared on his field in a crouching position. (800/2000) "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode."

"Hell-Eyes Red Dragon, attack Clayman now!" Kyris was angry that he couldn't end this duel now, but it was fine. He would still break down Jason during the next turn. Even as his dragon burned the new superhero to the ground his Trainer was launching forward and striking Jason with her whip. "End turn."

Jason- 2600

Kyris- 3100

Jason tilted his neck to one side and popped his neck loudly. "I feel pretty sure about this duel now." He drew, and after looking at the card knew why he felt confident. "I summon Bubbleman again." The blue superhero appeared in play one more in a blast of the element it got its name from. (800/1200) "I have no cards in play so I draw two cards." A pair of cards left his deck and he held up the four cards in his hand. "Now I'll show you why this deck is my sure-fire. It's because when I'm down on my luck I've always got this specific field card to fall back on."

"A field card?" Kyris asked curiously, and then he sneered in understanding. "Oh, so you intend to destroy Hell Plague Castle do you?"

"That's right." The castle behind his opponent exploded at the same time that giant buildings rose up into the sky around the field. "I activate Five-Point Skyscraper. While this card is in play whenever an Elemental Hero or Five-Point monster battles with a stronger monster then it increases its attack points by 500 for every attribute besides dark on my field."

"An impressive effect, but it won't do you any good." Kyris smirked. "Or are you saying that this is the end?"

"It should be. I play the Symbol of Ice that I recovered earlier, and my target is your set card!" Jason watched it flip up in response, negating the destruction.

"Call of the Haunted activates, reviving a monster I discarded earlier." A blood-red wolf appeared on Kyris' field. "Red Wolf comes out in attack mode." (1400/1200)

"That's about what I expected too." Jason held up another magic card. "Miracle Fusion removes fusion material monsters from my graveyard and field to special summon an Elemental Hero Fusion monster! I remove Elemental Hero Tempest and Five-Point Thief from my graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Five-Point Atmospheric Roar in attack mode!" A feather-winged superhero covered in archaic symbols appeared on his field. (2400/2300)

"At this time Red Wolf lets me gain half the original attack of a monster you summon!" Kyris lifted an eyebrow mockingly as his life points rose. (KLP: 4300)

"Yeah, so what." The last card in Jason's hand disappeared. "I activate the magic card Alchemic Fusion!" (JLP: 1600) "I shuffle monsters from my removed from play pile back into to my deck to summon a fusion monster!"

"So you'll be summoning something using Tempest and your Thief? How boring…" Kyris laughed. "Come on now, do you really think it would be wise to summon another monster for me to gain life off of? And besides, with Trainer in play whatever monster it powers you is the one you must attack first."

"Who ever said," Jason sneered coldly. "That I was summoning a wind fusion? Or did you forget that Archer required me to remove two cards from my graveyard? I shuffle Sparkman and Paladin back into my deck to summon Elemental Hero Five-Point Rebirth Cry!" An angelic superhero slowly lowered into play, the archaic symbols all over its body pulsing with a golden light. (1800/1600)

Jason- 1600

Kyris- 5200

"And now," Jason pointed at the Hell-Eyes Red Dragon. "Atmospheric Roar, attack Hell-Eyes Red Dragon now! World Wind!" The superhero flapped its wings and flew straight at the 4000 attack power dragon. (3900/2300) The two collided and after a moment Atmospheric Roar bellowed in pain and exploded, throwing the field into chaos as every monster in play was destroyed. "When Atmospheric Roar is destroyed so is every monster in play."

"…you just accomplished nothing, you understand this correct?"

"Did I?" Jason inserted his monsters and his field magic card into his graveyard. "Actually I did exactly what I wanted to do. When Rebirth Cry is destroyed it becomes my first main phase again. Secondly all cards I have in play are sent to the graveyard and for every card I lose I draw one card." He pulled a card off the top of his deck. "I don't get a card for Bubbleman but it will be fine. This card will be enough."

"You can beat me with one card?" Kyris shook his head sadly. "I doubt it. You seem to have used your best magic cards already."

"There's one left I haven't employed against you, and I'm about to use it." Jason held up his new magic card. "I activate the magic card The Burning World. For every different Symbol in the graveyard you take 500 points of damage or 800 if there are five or more different kinds. As repayment I lose 400 life points per Symbol in my graveyard."

Then they both went up in an explosion of fire that enveloped the entire area.

Jason- 0

Kyris- 1200

Kyris braced himself against the sudden and powerful heat, surprised that his opponent would willingly blow himself up. ("Then again I guess that is your…") His arms lowered slightly, still blinded by the stinging heat. "You definitely are suicid…" His pupils widened in response to the surprise and fear he felt as he understood why Jason had blown himself up.

Only a couple of feet away Jason had one fist cocked back, the silver-green fur of his Vortex Beast Chimera Graft blowing in the flames his magic card had caused. "**Heavy Impact…**"

Their eyes met, and in that one moment Kyris understood his mistake. ("Winning or losing in this duel didn't matter. He knew all along that even if he beat me that it wouldn't have changed anything…so when he drew The Burning World he used it because I would be caught off guard…") And now he was unable to defend himself…even with his speed, the fact that his opponent was even faster wasn't to be argued.

"…**Bolt Action!**" Jason's braced right fist launched forward and sank into the young Warlord's abdomen, blowing the air from his lungs. And then it forced him to bend over as it released a blast of gun-like air at point blank range into his stomach, hurling him through a pile of concrete and wooden rubble like he was a doll being thrown by a child.

Air still blowing from the pores in his fist, Jason sneered wildly. "Come on, Warlord of Hell, shouldn't you have seen this coming? Did you really think the moment my life points hit zero that I would fall if your attacks weren't even hurting me?"

"I suppose not…" Kyris muttered to himself, looking down at the small crater in his chest armor with disdain. "But you should have expected…" Even as his head rose up to look at Jason he realized his second mistake. ("He's gone…of course not, he's using that trick of his…that Overpressure ability…but where is he?")

-----------------------------

_A couple of miles away…_

------------------------------

Jason collapsed to his knees in his normal form, body trembling. "That was such a bad idea…I'm so freaking hungry now." Rolling to his feet, the Grafter stumbled off in the direction he had remembered the others going. ("As long as they went straight I'll find them…I just hope Kyris doesn't find me first.")

_To be continued…_

_Jason: Plan "Hit Kyris and run away" worked like a charm! Now to get to whatever the hell the ass was talking about!_

_Conductor: We'll be leaving in ten minutes, please make sure you have your luggage aboard before we do._

_Alita, Saika, Flair, and King: WHAT HAPPENED TO TWO HOURS?_

_Next chapter: Emergency Escape! Departure from the Region of Gold _

Author's Note: There's a new section up in Song's forum.


	31. Emergency Escape

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 31: Emergency Escape

"Whoa…" King commented quietly, dropping his used cigarette into a small leather pouch he carried with him for just such occasions when he was running low on cigarettes and wanted to try to preserve what few remained. "I can't be the only one who finds this extremely surprising, can I?"

"I find it pretty surprising too," Saika muttered, shivering as a strong breeze blew by and reminded her she was wearing clothing not meant to be worn in an outside environment.

Their amazement was because in the middle of the forest there was a train station…with electricity if the lights around it were any indication of its functioning status. In a place filled with giant monsters and terrifying creatures this was amazing enough, but to add to it there was a strange aura of peace coming from the structure. It was as if the station was a world separate from the one just a few feet from its borders, granted some kind of divine immunity to the troubles of being in the middle of the wild.

"What's so surprising?" Flair seemed to relax a little now that they had reached the station. "Up to this point all of the machines you have seen don't seem to elicit such a response from you."

"That's not the point I'm getting at," King protested. "How is there just a train station sitting here in the middle of the woods? Wouldn't it be vulnerable to attack by monsters?"

"Most monsters dislike electricity and things using it, hence why this place has little need of security." Alita sighed in frustration and crossed her arms daintily across her chest. "I still dislike the idea that things like this from Tuletia are in my country, even if they do help the people. Technology can't be trusted, running off something as hard to control naturally as electric currents."

"…" King and Saika wondered whether they should comment on how difficult it was to believe that someone who used magic had any right to comment on the reliability of technology.

"Oh well," Alita shrugged her shoulders and headed up the steps into the station. "If we want to get as far away from this place as we can then we'll have to use this form of transportation. Beggars can't be choosers, after all."

"At no point, even when on your own, have you ever considered yourself a beggar." Flair paid for this comment as he took a strong staff hit to the head.

King winced and walked past Alita with his hands in his pockets. ("I've got the sudden feeling that things are about to upgrade…") He could feel a powerful tingling feeling running up and down his spine and the bones in his legs. ("Somewhere nearby there's a powerful martial artists…no, there's at least two…") His eyebrows rose in confusion. "Rick's here…probably."

"Rick?" Alita and Flair asked at the same time, followed by Alita continuing the inquiry since the samurai realized by the name that it was another member of the Freaks Gang. "You mean the other Freaks Gang member besides Kim?"

"Ricky's here?" Saika looked down at herself. "He's going to complain about how I'm dressed wrong…" She skipped over to Alita and tugged on the other girl's clothes. "Hey Alita-san, do you have something for me to wear that's not quite so revealing?"

"Sure, I've got the spare dress in my bag that I was wearing before we got to Karot's Kingdom." The magician frowned suddenly as a question came to mind. "How do you know that Rick is here?"

"It's nothing big, but I can sense powerful martial artists depending on how my body is reacting." King lit up another cigarette, tossing the last box away in disgust at the fact he was out of supplies already. "I sense two and a half incredibly powerful martial artists in that building. The half, without a doubt, is Rick. He's the only guy I've ever known that's elicited such a weak feeling from me."

"And the other two?" The question was from Flair, because the idea of going against a powerful opponent was something that excited him. He'd spent far too long sitting around being Alita's babysitter and not having a chance to do what he did best, fight.

"I know one of them from my temporary employment under Kyris." The fake Frenchman pursed his lips in displeasure. "It has to be Aenpest." Alita's gasp told him what he already knew. "If Jason doesn't show up I wonder whether I'll get a whole Warlord all to myself."

"Like hell you will." Flair's thumb unsheathed his katana just barely. "I have a special attack I wish to test against an opponent of that level. Therefore you'll just have to sit back and deal with that second martial artist, fishbowl."

Under normal circumstances King would have started a fight over that insult, but with only one last cigarette remaining in his supply and a series of half-used ones he didn't much feel like accidentally losing his last beacon of hope. "Say whatever you like, Flair, but if this Warlord is a martial artist then wouldn't I be the best opponent for him? Plus we might have another situation like with Saika, except now we've got to save Rick. Do you really feel comfortable fighting for the sake of a member of your princess's gang?"

"She's only part of your little group because the lot of you seem to possess the power necessary to take down the Warlords…excluding Kyris." The samurai sneered. "I noticed that when I arrived you hadn't really taken him down."

"I'm not dumb enough to fight Kyris alone…" The fake Frenchman's expression turned slightly hurt, as he looked away, the painful memories of getting crushed by that little brat's butler still scarred into his brain. "His caretaker alone was enough to beat me down…that's why we're collecting the members of the Freaks Gang. We'll need all of their power to beat this kid."

"Well said," Alita nodded, a hopeful smile on her face. "We can win if we collect all of the members of the Freaks Gang together, right? And Jason has already proven that he's nearly invincible thanks to his ability to heal just by switching Grafts, right?"

-----------------------------------

_Several minutes, but in the wrong direction…_

------------------------------------

"This is no good." Jason dropped into a cross-legged sitting position and sighed, his stomach grumbling at how he was mistreating it. "Shut up before I feed you a fist, you blob of useless flesh."

His weakness to something as stupid as hunger was the worst torture of all. Ever since he was a kid he had always been unable to do anything on an empty stomach. "The pain's nothing, but you just refuse to let me fight until I've filled you, huh? How am I going to beat a guy like Kyris when it took all my effort just to bring down Don Karot?"

Thinking back on how he fought it occurred to him that this Chimera thing was definitely a cool power. With the ability to mix and match his Grafts he could create a pretty big variety of abilities. While he didn't know anything about Temarocia and its monsters, that didn't matter. "I just have to use my imagination. I've been daydreaming ever since I was a kid, so that shouldn't be too hard. Let's see…"

His first combination was Vortex Beast, a form that used the resilient body of Stonequill and the air control abilities of Burst Fox to create a powerful form that gave him access to strikes equal to gunshots in power. ("The problem is that the best techniques, like the Railgun, are too powerful for their own good. Even with Stonequill's resilient and elastic flesh so much air pressure escaping from my arm at once instantly ruins it. That kind of damage disables that part of my body.") And using the technique with something like his tail or legs wouldn't work…he couldn't control the tail well enough and losing a leg in a fight was suicide.

("Well let's see, Flair's a samurai, Frenchy's a martial artist…or at least calls himself one, Alita's a magician, Saika's…") He had no idea what Saika could do. She could make illusions, so he guessed she fell into the realm of support. "Hmmm, that sounds pretty cool actually. So let's see, the Freaks Gang Adventuring Party has need of three groups."

"The first is melee combat," The Grafter started pacing, trying to take his mind off the fact that he was still starving and his stomach was telling him so in very loud words. "Flair, King, myself when I'm using Stonequill and Burst Fox…that's three. Well, I guess I shouldn't include myself in the equation, so it's just Flair and King for now. They should be enough though."

He stopped, watching some leaves float by peacefully despite how stormy it was outside. "Support is something I can't even classify yet, so let's skip it for now. I guess since Saika fits the bill for it I'll have to think about it eventually."

It was ranged combat that was the problem. Alita was the only one that had ranged abilities at all… ("Well, King's got that one trick but it's not reliable. He'll wind up pulling his muscles if he uses it too often.") So it was just Alita for now. "I guess that settles it, I need a powerful Chimera that uses ranged attacks. Hmmm…"

Curse-Eater and Subzero Shark were the most powerful when it came to ranged attacks, since the Epic had ranged too but he wasn't going to be using it in a Chimera. That would be suicidal since he was sure he still couldn't control it alone. ("So if I combine those two…")

In his mind he could see steam. "The combination of the icy poison Subzero Shark makes and the flames that Curse-Eater uses would nullify each other, and other than scalding the target steam can't do too much damage."

"AHHH!" He started rubbing his head with both hands frantically. "This is so hard! I wish I had some food in my stomach so I could actually test out Chimera combinations instead of just stand here and think about it!"

---------------------------

"It's really surprising to think that there would be a train station here," King muttered to himself. "This though…"

"So are you going to buy something," The owner of the stand said, motioning to his stock of food and other basic commodities. "Cause you're really clogging up business just standing there, bud."

The fake Frenchman looked left, and then right. "What business?" He asked honestly, pointing out the fact that he was the only one in sight. Flair had gone to get the tickets and the girls had gone to the restroom to change. "Whatever, I just need cigarettes."

"Sure, how many?" The man motioned to a series of small wooden boxes, opening one to show off the fact that it was filled with little rolled bundles of tobacco that King could call cigarettes…if he was blind.

"That's pretty fragrant stuff, but it looks terrible." The fake Frenchman sighed. "Do you have rolling papers?"

"Yup, but we really don't sell raw tobacco here." The man shrugged his shoulders. "After all, why would people go to the effort of making their own when it's already made and ready to be bought."

"I'll be buying your whole stock." King cracked his knuckles in preparation for what was going to be a harrowing amount of work. "All your papers and all your 'cigarettes,' if that's what you could call them."

"You sure about that?" The man sounded a bit incredulous. "What are you gonna do with all those cigarettes?"

"Remake them into something worthy of a man of France."

----------------------

"Hey Alita," Saika called from the other side of the one-person restroom located near the entrance. "This dress seems a bit big on me. Are you sure it fits you properly?"

"Last I checked it did, why?" The blond-haired girl was crouched down in front of the door, more than a little nervous thanks to King's warning about a Warlord like Aenpest being somewhere inside the station. ("Why would the Warlord of Elegance be here though?")

"Because it seems a little snug in the top area." A thud came from the other side of the door as it sounded like the girl had fallen. "Owie…I tripped on Shiny Kitty-san's tail…"

"That would be your tail," The magician barked sharply, finding the backhanded insult thrown her way rather hard to swallow. "You're a Graftborn now, don't forget that."

"So I'm stuck as a cat-girl?" Saika sounded extremely disheartened. "Does that mean I'm going to wind up having to wear really embarrassing clothes like the bunny-suit all the time?"

"Why would you think a crazy idea like that?" Alita could have sworn that someone nearby was playing a violin.

"Well in the anime my brothers always watch all kinds of really bad stuff keeps happening to the cat-girl…" Saika sniffled a couple of times. "This dress is really too small…"

Amidst the twitching of her right eye Alita wrote the word anime in her tome and scribbled a question mark next to it.

---------------------------------------------

The sounds of the violin were light, a kind of phantom waltz playing off the walls of the train car. It wafted across the air like an aroma, the kind of thing that you could feel more than hear. "Ah, how I love a fine music along with my wine." A pair of supple hands lifted up a wine glass filled with a deep red liquid and brought it up to a pair of lips painted a fine purple sheen. "While this is nothing like the luxuries back home I suppose it will do until we've returned to the Country of Pathways, eh?"

"Indeed, milord." The attendant nodded his head slightly, still playing the violin with extreme skill.

"Neh Roe-chan," The sitting Warlord sighed tiredly. "When are we supposed to take off already? I've been waiting in here for an hour already."

"It shouldn't be much longer, Lord Aenpest." Off to the side a man dressed in bright green frilled clothing lisped his answer out, his voice absolutely grating to the ears. "Would you like me to go beautifully convince the conductor to get us underway?"

"There will be no need for that," Another voice lisped out, a near copy of Roe stepping into the car. The only difference was that he was dressed in frilly bright orange clothing instead of green. "From what I just heard there was a tornado nearby, so we're heading out in a few minutes."

"Hang on a second Boe-chan," Aenpest put his glass down on the small table in front of his cushioned futon. "Where is Van-chan? She's going to miss the train if she isn't back from her hunting yet."

"Don't worry," the man tittered. "She was coming on-board at the same time I was. What's even more interesting is that she had this beautiful specimen with her…"

"Ho," The Warlord said in surprise, rubbing his goatee with a gloved hand. "I never knew you to be one to appreciate hunting, Boe-chan."

"Well it wasn't the dead animal she brought back that surprised me." The man grinned from ear to ear, looking pleased to gossip a little since the subject of it wasn't around. "It was actually this silver-haired guy; he must have been like her…" He trembled a little in excitement remembering the disheveled and wild appearance of the unconscious young man. "He was such a cute hunk…"

"Oh really?" Roe leapt out of his chair and did a little high-kick, nearly breaking into his dance routine right there. "Shall we go intrude, brother? I know how much you love to pry!"

"You love to pry too, brother!" Boe leapt up next, and the two of them were about to head out of the car.

Aenpest chuckled and waved his hand at them both to get their attention. "Leave her be. The girl did well on our business here, so let her enjoy a bit of pleasure. If she wants to bring a strange boy onboard and do what she will with him then let her do so unmolested."

"Yes sir," The two moped and collapsed into a pair of seats in perfect unison.

----------------------------------

"It's still feels really small…" Saika, dressed in the black dress Alita had been wearing yesterday, squeaked in fear as the blond-haired girl turned and glared at her angrily. "I'll stop complaining now."

"Good." Alita huffed over to Flair, who had just finished up 'convincing' the ticket vendor to sell them tickets for cheaper. "You didn't overdo it, did you?"

"I don't know for sure," The samurai had a look on his face that could probably kill a charging rhino if used correctly. "He passed out so many times I wondered whether I should just cut the wall down and get our own tickets. However," He held up five slips of paper. "We need to hurry; the train is leaving in ten minutes. Because of the dog's stunt the conductor has demanded they leave much earlier than planned."

"Well what should we do?" The magician rubbed the back of her head, realizing that she should have used the mirror and brushed her hair when she had been at the restroom. "Maybe we should just camp out here?"

"And let the Hell find us?" Flair snorted. "Are you getting too soft towards these fools for your own good, Alita? We'll leave the ticket with the vendor and make sure that he gives it to the dog when he arrives. If he blows it then we'll just have to meet up with him in a couple of days at the place we were going anyway. Staying here isn't an option."

Alita nodded and took Jason's ticket. "I'll go give this to the vendor and leave instructions. Get King and let's get on board before it's too late."

------------------------

Flair and Saika entered the main section of the train station and found King wrapping up the last of his cigarettes.

"Yo," The fake Frenchman half-saluted to them and puffed on his remaining original cigarette, savoring its normal flavor. "Where's my angel?"

A vein bulged out of Flair's forehead at the 'my angel' part, but he kept himself from going straight to violence. There would be time for that later. "Alita is making preparations since the dog is stupid. What's with all of those cigarettes?"

King glanced to his side and the huge number of hand-made cigarettes piled on top of each other, their numbers having to be at least two thousand or so. "It's not much but I had to make do. After all, there are no convenience stores in Temarocia…" Rubbing his chin he tapped some ash off the butt of his current cigarette. "Actually, until I have proof of that I won't believe it. So far this place has everything else I wouldn't expect from a fantasy setting…"

"Hurry up and take as many of those disgusting things with you as you can, we're leaving." Flair started to walk towards the train…

"I'm already to go." King stood up, the piles of cigarettes gone.

"…How did you do that?" Flair asked, while from behind him Saika sweat-dropped.

"Do what?" King asked with real confusion in his voice.

_To be continued…_

_And so, escaping from the wrath of Kyris the Hell, the Freaks Gang boards the regional transit. Where is their destination, and with another of the seven Warlords onboard as well will everything go as peacefully as hoped for? _

_Next Chapter: The Greatest Ninja in the World _


	32. The Greatest Ninja in the World

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, but I'm sure you know that already.

_The Region Transit system was established recently to assist merchants and travelers with the troubles that normally came with going across the country on foot or pack animal. It is an invention from the mechanical country of Tuletia, beginning a new age for those living in the country. With the Region Transit, which goes from Mudeia to the connection station in the Tuletian border town of Roland and every major city or town between them, life has reached a new pinnacle of convenience for those living in Evangela._

"All aboard!" One of the train station employees yelled out. "This is the last train heading out this evening, so if you've got a ticket then get on board!" It was a waste of breath, as there was no one in the station now. Those that had tickets had already gone on board to get warm.

A few minutes later the train was slowly huffing out of the station, heading along the tracks towards its next destination.

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 32: The Greatest Ninja in the World

Jason's eyes slowly opened, and he cautiously lifted up his head to look around. ("Where am I? I'm pretty sure I passed out…no, not so much passed out as stopped moving. Stupid stomach…") There was a red ceiling above him, and the ground under him was shaking slightly with a gentle rocking, as if it was moving across bumpy. "Where am I?"

When there was no response he turned his head so his cheek was pressed against the soft velvety ground under him. ("A train car? Well, it looks like I got on board the transit thing.")

The room was strangely spacious, meaning it probably took up the whole car. ("There are benches along the walls though…it's like somebody set this car up to be a fighting ring or something…") Rolling off of the bench he was on, the Grafter landed on his feet. "Well, I guess I'd go find the others."

His stomach protested as loud as it could, and his nose told him something he hadn't initially realized. There was an aroma in the air that could only be one thing… "Meat…" A line of drool slid down the edge of his mouth and he got down on all fours, closing his eyes and pressing his nose to the ground. ("Where? Where's the food…")

Inching across the room, Jason stopped when he felt heat warming his face. Tilting his head up, he immediately got starry-eyed at the sight of a pair of extremely large steaks sitting on top of some kind of weird portable stove, the two slabs of meat nearly done cooking. "So hungry…" His hand started to inch towards one of the two mouth-watering meals…

"Stop right there, villain!" A voice bellowed out, the amplification a bit too powerful even for the spacious room.

Jason slid into a cross-legged position and looked around for the owner of the voice. "Don't be so stingy, it's not like you were gonna eat both of them."

"It's unforgivable…" The voice yelled out. "How dare you try to steal something that isn't yours, thief!"

("I have the sudden feeling like it doesn't matter what I say…") The Grafter stood up and brushed himself off. "Hey, disembodied voice, where are you?"

"Haha!" The voice grew smug. "One such as you cannot see through my unstoppable Super Camouflage Technique!"

"…" If Jason hadn't have been so hungry he would have realized that kind of stupid name sounded vaguely familiar. Eyes narrowed angrily, he walked over and stopped in front of a section of the room's wall that was forest camouflage-colored instead of the same burgundy the rest of the walls were. "Playing around won't work with me."

"Unbelievable!" The piece of forest-colored cloth rippled a little. "You aren't just any normal criminal, are you? No, you must be a super criminal! It seems I have no choice…"

The piece of fabric dropped to the ground and whoever was behind it dashed towards the other end of the room. When they reached that end they pulled a bush out of thin air and hid behind it. "Hahaha, thanks to my superhuman speed and Transformation technique now you'll never be able to find me!"

"…." Jason scratched the top of his head and sighed. "Hey, listen…I don't know how to tell you this without making you sound stupid, but that really wasn't superhuman speed. It was kind of a mad dash, but honestly…"

He walked over and poked the bush a couple of times. "We're in a train car too, so I'm really not going to have trouble noticing a suspicious bush in the middle of the room."

"…Really?" The bush rustled a couple of times and started laughing again. "You are truly perceptive to see through my techniques a second time! Very well, I shall give you the privilege of seeing my true form!" A cloud of white smoke erupted from the out-of-place piece of foliage, covering one side of the room.

When it cleared the bush had disappeared and in its place there was a man wearing the robes of a ninja, except instead of a traditional black they were bright red with white stars all over them. Hanging from the man's neck was a red and white sequence scarf, the piece of wool blowing in a wind that Jason didn't feel. Hanging from the ninja's back there was a large two-handed sheathed weapon, probably a sword of some kind. "I am the mighty Triple R, hero of justice!" Two fountains of sparks, one white and one red, erupted from both sides of him when he announced his identity dramatically.

Jason looked down at the two little fireworks shooting the sparks, and then up at Triple R. "I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry."

"I'll tell you what you should do," the ninja thumbed at his chest. "Surrender now, villain! If you do I'll let you off with a warning and a slap on the wrist, because otherwise you will have to taste my mighty techniques!"

"Why would a hero of justice be on a train stopping a guy from taking a steak?" Jason turned away and sighed. "Don't you have some posing to do somewhere?"

"It seems you won't listen…" He made a few nonsense symbols with his hands. "**Ninja Technique; Breathtaking Blue Rocket!**"

Jason turned in time to catch a bottle rocket to the forehead, the hand-made firework hurling him backwards into one of the benches with a burst of blue-colored smoke as it exploded, spraying hot glass in a two foot radius around where it had connected.

"I tried to warn you," Triple R sighed sadly, shaking his head in disappointment. "You should have given up. After all, this was a fight a mere thief such as yourself couldn't have won. I am a hero of justice, after all." The blue smoke cloud he was talking to sweat-dropped as he started laughing triumphantly.

A loud squelching noise came from the cloud as Jason charged out of it, his stomach rumbling and blood dripping down his face where the hot glass had cut or entered his flesh. "You jerk, just let me have one!" He threw a right hook at the ninja's face.

"**Ninja Fantastic Guard Technique!"** Triple R pulled a metal hot plate from out of nowhere and blocked the punch with it, a hissing noise coming from Jason's knuckles as his skin started to cook.

"GAH!" The Grafter twisted backwards and started blowing on his hand while the ninja returned the hot plate to wherever it had originally come from.

"**Ninja Technique; Wondrous White Bomb!"** Triple R pulled another object out of nowhere and threw it at his feet, the ground around him erupting into a cloud of white smoke.

"You annoying..." Jason was cut off by the growl of his stomach, and he slid to his knees with an exhausted look on his face.

"**Ninja Technique; Remarkable Red Firecrackers!**" Triple R announced this while standing behind Jason and lighting a fuse before he ran for cover.

"Huh?" The Grafter looked at the string of firecrackers at his feet and wrapped around his legs before he broke into a frantic dance to avoid the little bursts of red fire and smoke as they went off. "AHHH!"

--------------------------------------

King sighed and reshuffled the deck of playing cards he had taken from the remains of Don Karot's stronghold. ("I never knew Solitaire was such a good way to keep you occupied.")

Saika yawned loudly and stretched her entire body in one pull, tail swinging lazily below her as she slept in the luggage shelf. "I'm glad we didn't have too many bags. Otherwise this great napping spot would have been wasted."

Alita continued to write in her tome, stopping occasionally to look up at Saika. ("So when you are a Graftborn the monster's habits can become your own too…interesting…")

Flair looked away from the window and over at the tome. ("I wonder whether or not Aenpest will be a worthy opponent for my ultimate technique.")

-------------------------------

"**Ninja Technique; Outstanding Orange Mortar!**" Triple R covered his ears as the portable mortar in front of him fired, sending a tail of orange smoke through the air as the shell it fired crashed into the hunger-paralyzed Jason's stomach. "Have you had enough yet?"

Jason had stopped moving, his face pressed into the carpet. ("I've figured out who you are, Rick. I don't get the retarded costume and these stupid firework tricks, but you've pushed me a little too far. As soon as I'm able to move you're mine…") He twitched a couple of times and tried to stand up, though halfway up his body trembled and collapsed again.

"It seems I've beaten you." Triple R stood tall, his scarf blowing in the wind that seemed to exist around him only. "It was to be expected, considering how powerful my mighty techniques are."

"Hang on…there…" His stomach protesting again, Jason stood up and managed to prop himself up with an arm. "I'm not quite done yet. I suggest you use those techniques of yours again. After all…"

His head turned just enough so one of his eyes met the ninja's, and it reflected the crazy look he only got when he was willing to fight to the end. "…what kind of Freaks Gang member leaves their opponent still conscious in a fight like this. You made a pretty steep accusation saying I was trying to steal, Rick Robby Richardson…"

"That may be true, Jason," Triple R pulled another strange firework out of nowhere. "That's why it hurts me to make such an accusation. I thought the Freaks Gang was one that did not allow stealing? What is that made you suddenly change your mind about the policy of the group, huh?"

"Yeah, well wouldn't it be crueler to let somebody starve to death?" The Grafter rolled into a sitting position, his elbows resting on his thighs.

"The steaks aren't mine to give out, Jason." Triple R lit the fuse on the firework, its shape that of a nearly flat wheel. "**Ninja Technique; Great Green Pinwheel!**" Then he threw it at the same time the fuse reached the firework, a spray of green sparks coming from it as it turned into a bright green buzzsaw of sparks that hurtled towards Jason.

"It seems that talking to you isn't going to do any good." Jason's stomach protested again and this time he punched it with his fist to silence it, doubling over for a moment on reflex. "It looks like I'll have to knock you out, Triple R." Then he threw himself out of the way as the pinwheel flew past him.

"You're welcome to try!" The ninja loosened the fasteners for the weapon on his back. "If that's the case though, then let me show you my ultimate weapon. It is the killing sword, the blade that wields the power of the colored flames." Drawing it free, he held it up so Jason could see its body. "Behold its brilliance."

The sword's body was shaped like a scoop, it's inside burnt slightly. "Fourth Jubilee, the blade of legend. Regardless of what you think of my other techniques, do not be mistaken about this one. It is meant to be taken completely seriously, lest the one fighting it will die a painful death."

"As always," The Grafter stumbled into a standing position, the air around him starting to swirl. "You talk too much, Rick! **Graft Metamorphosis!**"

"**Sparkling Sword!**" Triple R rushed at Jason, the inner scoop of the blade igniting with a fire golden fountain of sparks.

("I don't have the strength to fight, but its fine.") The winds around him grew stronger and stronger, and then died down to reveal his Burst Fox Graft.

"**Fourth of July Slash!**" The ninja's blade fell towards the Grafter…

Who reached out and grabbed Triple R's wrists, letting the blade burn straight through the flesh of his shoulder in exchange. "**Impact Scalpel!**" His feet launched upwards together and caught Triple R on the chin, sending him flying into the ceiling. ("That's it…") His stomach protested and Jason collapsed to the ground, the smoldering blade still cutting into his arm. "If you can stand after that then you've won…" A smile crossed his face weakly. "I'm finished…"

------------------------------------

King sighed and stretched. "I'm officially bored. Anyone care to duel?"

"If we had the room I'd settle the score with you, fishbowl." Flair kicked his feet up against the window and yawned. "Unfortunately that isn't going to happen. So how about you just shut up and let's try to sleep. I'm sure that Alita appreciates having something other than hard ground to rest her head on."

"That's true," Alita closed her tome and put it off to her side, rubbing her eyes out with her hands. "I'm really tired too…"

"You may always rest your head on my manly chest, my angel." King slid in and placed an arm around her shoulder. He then leaned in to kiss her…

And got the taste of leather in his mouth as Flair's sheathed sword was interposed between the two of them, leaving Alita looking a little relieved and King looking pissed off. "You wanna fight, bathrobe?"

"Obviously," The samurai smirked and stood up, straightening the ties of his robe. "I just thought of a good place too. Come on up to the roof of the car, we'll fight there." He pulled the door open and motioned to the opening. "Ladies first."

King opened the window. "Thanks, now I've got to take the hard way." He squeezed himself through it and climbed up towards the top of the train car.

Flair did the same, a smirk on his face. "Alita, I'll try and keep it down for you. However don't expect too much silence at first. I'm sure he's going to moan and whine when he starts losing." Then the door closed, leaving a tired Alita and a snoring Saika alone in the room.

"Why do men have to be like this?" The blond-haired magician asked the sleeping Saika, who answered by rolling off of the luggage shelf and hitting the ground with a thud.

-----------------------------------------

Jason awoke to a taste in his mouth he had only imagined… ("Steak!") Then his body lunged forwards, snapping at thin air in expectation of the rest of it beyond the morsel on his tongue. He heard a yelp of surprise and someone fell backwards while at the same time the source of the delightful smell hit the ground, and without even bothering to open his eyes he dove for it, taking the thing between his claws and tearing it to shreds.

The person, a girl, who had been surprised, laughed happily. "You've got a real appetite, don't you? I guess you would when I think about the sounds your stomach was making though." Her eyes widened and she gasped in terror as he dove for her steak, snatching it right off the grill. "HEY THAT'S MINE!"

Jason was halfway into the next course of his meal when something tackled him and grabbed the meat in his mouth, trying to take it away. He fought it for all his worth, the two of them rolling around on the ground growling and snarling at each other.

Triple R's eyes opened and he looked around, wondering what the racket was. ("The last thing I remember was that I had brought out Fourth Jubilee.") Then he remembered the ceiling and how it felt pressed into his face. After that it was just darkness. ("Did he really knock me out in one hit? Jason, the human punching bag?")

An image of the long silver-haired Jason flickered in his mind. ("Did I imagine that?") He looked over at the source of the noise and his eyes bugged out of his head at the sight of that same strange-looking Jason and a girl dressed in some kind of Chinese green dress rolling around and fighting over a piece of meat. ("What a surreal scene to wake up to.") "Well I suppose it would make sense, after all…"

The girl finally managed to get her hands onto the ground and pushed off, driving her moccasins into the Grafter's stomach to throw him away from her, sans the meat. "It's mine!"

Jason rolled back a few paces and then came up standing, his tail swinging back and forth and his fangs bared. "Give it!"

"You wanna fight for it?" She jumped up and stamped her foot into the carpet, the extra-long sleeves of her dress falling down to her elbows and revealing her tanned skin. "Bring it on!"

"**Impact Cannon!**" Jason charged in with both hands in front of him, ready to strike with his strongest attack.

The girl twisted on one heel gracefully, her long braided red hair flowing around her body as she side-stepped his arms and perfectly positioned herself so that her fist was heading in towards his face at a speed similar to the amount he had used. "**Ghost-Fire…"** Her arm lit up with a white-blue transparent flame at those words, the heat instantly snapping Jason out of his hunger-caused anger as he felt the familiar pain of fire. "**…Punch!**"

The blow didn't connect with any force, instead her entire arm passed right through Jason like he wasn't there.

("An illusion?") Triple R leaned in a little, as everything had stopped. The girl, after her arm had gone through Jason's head, was now standing a few feet away from him. Jason had stopped completely, his eyes wide and his body stuck in the position it had been when she had hit him. ("It didn't seem to do any damage, and yet this feeling…")

Jason suddenly dropped to his knees, steam rising from his skull. ("That could have killed me. For a few seconds it felt like my brain was wrapped in fire…") He turned numbly to look at her, his tail dangling limply behind him. "Why didn't you win right there? You could have?"

"Because," She smiled slightly and glanced back at him. "First off, killing somebody over a piece of meat is kind of silly. Second, I could tell you were starving terribly so it wasn't your fault you were so desperate to get some food. Thirdly, and this is most important," Her hand reached out and she patted his cheek. "Why would I roast a cute guy of my own race?"

("Her own race?") Triple R just then took in the girl's entire body, and realized that there was a pair of red wolf ears on her head and a red tail coming out of the back of her dress. ("So that's it,") He crossed his legs and regained his composure. "You're a Beastman."

"Yeah, that I am." She rested a fist on her hip and grinned at the ninja, an accent that couldn't be anything other than Scottish in her voice. "Vanora Sabina's the name. I'm surprised though that there'd be a ninja on this train. What's the matter is your giant frog sick or something?"

"Don't make fun of ninjas, you fool!" Triple R leapt to his feet dramatically, pointing up at the sky. "Or else I will make you regret it with my mighty techniques!"

"Oh really?" She stuck her tongue out at him and sat down on a bench. "I doubt it, considering when I came in here you were up to your waist in ceiling." She motioned to the covered-up hole in the ceiling that Jason had made using the ninja. "Or am I mistaken? Was that part of one of your great techniques?"

"Anyway," Jason sat down on a nearby bench and pouted at the fact that he had to make do with such a little meal. "What are you doing here Rick? I already figured you wound up here with Saika, but why are you on this train? Why weren't you protecting her?"

"Because I had no idea where she wound up," The ninja flicked his scarf over his shoulder casually and took a seat as well. "When we arrived here we were separated. I woke up in a country village in this country and have been riding the region transit for the last week, hoping to hear some news from someone about any way to get home."

"That sounds pretty serious…" Jason noticed that Vanora was looking at him still. "And what are you looking at?"

She blushed and looked away. "Sorry, it's just been a while since I've seen another Beastman…it's been kind of lonely and I was glad to have found you collapsed out in the forest."

"I'm a Beastman?" The Grafter looked down at himself and then up at the ceiling, nodding his head. "I see…it all makes sense now."

"NO IT DOESN'T!" Triple R yelled angrily.

-------------------------------

Kyris collapsed into his throne and sighed tiredly. "I've had a really strange day…"

"Why is that sir?" The shadowed voice off to his side asked.

"I went to the fool Karot's place for a bit of excitement, but it apparently got hit by a tornado. Then I run into a stray dog that dents my armor, and to make it worse he even got away." The young Warlord thumbed over at the dent in his chest armor.

"Forgive my asking, sir," The shadowed form looked up slightly. "Why didn't you just deal with the threat there? It is within your power to smite Jason, and he is currently riding on the region transit. We could have you at the next stop for it and you could simply destroy the whole train."

"I could," Kyris mused on that for a moment, but decided against it. "Not yet though. Aenpest is onboard that train, which means that without a doubt Jason will wind up fighting him. I wonder how mister close-range does against the Warlord of Elegance, a man who cannot be harmed physically?"

_To be continued…_

_And so there is another reunion of members of the Freaks Gang. With the arrival of Rick another powerful (sorta-kinda-ish) ally has joined up to Alita's cause…maybe…okay, it's probably not that easy, but regardless, he's there._

_Next Chapter: Evil Plot of a Strange, Strange Man; Aenpest's Bizarre Challenge_


	33. Evil Plot of a Strange, Strange Man

Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything in it.

From the Official Records of Mudeia:

_It is said that the Warlord of Hell was a demon sealed within the body of a human. His strength was unrivaled, even before he became a Graftborn. The power he wielded was something beyond strength or speed, but it was the ability to somehow shake the world with his actions. No matter how hard or difficult the task, he could succeed. This is what labeled him as a danger to the rest of Temarocia. Such a man wasn't something that could be ignored._

_It is also said that his son, the current Warlord of Hell, will become the successor of his father's land. Up to this point Kyris has shown that he follows his own whims, doing as he pleases with Evangela unopposed by the other Warlords and the Five Holy Guardians of Mudeia. _

_So one truly wonders, why hasn't Kyris the Hell attempted to remove Mudeia from the map? It is official speculation that he doesn't try so because three of the Five Holy Guardians working together are strong enough to defeat him, but with one of them out of commission this seems like the perfect time for him to attack Mudeia while it is short one of the only five people that can oppose him._

_Perhaps he doesn't care? Who is to say what goes through the mind of that strange boy._

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 33: Evil Plot of a Strange, Strange Man; Aenpest's Bizarre Challenge

Aenpest sat in silence, his legs curled to his chest as he mulled over the last ten minutes and what he had heard. ("So things are changing so rapidly.")

"_Princess Alita is aboard the train with you. As the one favor you still owe me, keep her busy as long as you can. I don't care how."_

"It seems," He said to the empty and well-furnished room, "That I'm to play the part of a decoy. Very well, if it is Ky-chan that asked me this then I will comply." He had already sent Roe and Boe through to the train to find the Princess and her companions. ("Vanora may be needed though, but I had best get her myself. She must understand that this is a serious mission or else she'll play around far too much.") That girl had a mind of her own when it came to how she handled her business compared to how she handled business he gave her.

Standing up, the Warlord of Elegance's peacock-colored coat fell around his shoulders and he set his lips into a grim smile. "The man that defeated Don Karot is on board this transit as well. If I can beat him then I will have proven myself as truly deserving the title of Warlord."

Since the fall of the original Warlord of Hell Aenpest had tried to escape the shadow. It was the shadow that followed him everywhere he went. "No matter how hard I try, it won't leave me alone. I will separate myself from the connections I share with that creature. Merely remembering him leaves a bloody stain on my hands that cannot be cleansed."

-------------------------------

Alita yawned and fluffed her little pillow a bit harder. ("It's so hard to get some sleep…") A loud thud sounded above, followed by the sound of steel hitting steel. At that same moment a vein bulged out of her forehead and she grabbed her staff, using the butt of it to hit the ceiling a couple of times. "When a pair of idiots are fighting right above us!"

Saika kicked the air a couple of times, looking like she was having a bad dream, and rolled off the luggage shelf again. Hitting the ground with a thud, she lifted up her now frazzled hair and head, looking around sleepily. "Are we there yet?"

"I'm sorry Saika," Alita patted the other girl on the shoulder. "Unfortunately those two don't seem willing to let either of us have some sleep. Which is a shame…" She glanced darkly at the green crystal on top of her staff. "I wonder if I should create a high-powered whirlwind just above us. Maybe that would teach them to behave, eh?"

Saika sweatdropped fearfully, holding up her hands to try and sooth the blond-haired girl's anger. "I don't think we need to do something quite that drastic to calm them down. How about I just ask them nicely to please stop fighting?"

"I guess so." Alita pouted angrily, finding it extremely annoying that those two were so hot-headed that they had to settle everything with violence.

Just then a knock came at the door to the room. "Excuse us, room service!"

"Room service?" Saika reached over and opened the door slowly. "We didn't order any room service." Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of a man wearing all orange, a bizarre attempt to look innocent and sweet on his face. "Ummm, are you really room service?"

"Of course!" Boe held up a heavy-looking metal plate with a cover over it. "We have an order for miss Alita Meijer. It's such a shame though that we weren't told which room she was in. Might this, by chance, be where she is?" He leaned in and his eyes twinkled at her.

"Hey Alita!" Saika said loudly, turning around to look at the twitching magician that was still plotting how to stop the fight happening just above their head. "You've got room service!"

"Huh?" Alita scooted forward in her seat and poked her head into view. "I didn't order anything though. Plus aren't you dressed a bit too flashily to be an employee of the transit?"

"Of course not!" Boe fluttered his eyelashes at her. "Would this cute face of mine lie to you?"

"…yes." She slammed the door in his face and clicked the lock closed. "Go away."

The man frowned in frustration and placed the plate down to his side. "It seems I have no choice." His hands rose up and he struck a dancing pose. "Princess Alita Meijer, I have been ordered to make sure you don't get away…" His right leg snapped up and kicked the door, blowing it open.

-------------------------------

"You're not bad," King growled out, his foot resting against Flair's katana as the two of them pushed against each other roughly.

"I'd thank you for the compliment, but it sounds like you're losing the will to fight." The samurai smirked confidently and pushed a bit harder, trying to throw the fake Frenchman off-balance. "Would that be the case?"

"You wish I was so easy to beat." King leaned in a little and smiled. "Sorry bathrobe, not every opponent you'll ever get will be so scared of your ugly face that they'll surrender on the spot."

They both pushed harder, the blade of Flair's sword and the sole of King's Iron Cotton shoe growing red from the building pressure and heat. Down below a crash sounded followed by a scream of surprise. "Alita!"

Both men broke away from each other and were about to make a run for the ladder that led back into the train car, but they found someone standing in their way. "That's far enough, boys. When the conductor told me that he could have sworn he saw a pair of people fighting on the top of the train I knew that it must have been friends of the Princess."

"And you are?" King asked, his jaw set and his fists clenched as he prepared to attack.

"Lord Aenpest," The Warlord elegantly swept his peacock-colored cloak behind him, the shining armor around his chest region reflecting the moonlight brightly. "A pleasure to make your acquaintances, I'm sure." His purple-painted lips curled back to reveal his perfectly white teeth, his long black hair blowing in the wind created by the speed of the train.

"Get out of our way." Flair sheathed his katana but prepared to quick draw it if necessary. "Or would your subordinates be down below and you don't want us interfering…is that it?"

"That would be correct." The Warlord was unarmed, but he didn't seem afraid of the two dangerous men in front of him. In fact he seemed far too relaxed.

"You're in the way of me reaching my angel," King lit up a cigarette and his face grew very dark and very angry. "Step aside before I break you in half with my kicks of love."

"How scary," The Warlord exclaimed mockingly. "I think your threat has paralyzed me with fear. I can't hope to move out of the way of your attack."

"You're a dead man," King launched forward and turned his hips to bring one foot up in line with the Warlord's nose.

---------------------------------------

Alita and Saika were both on their guard as Boe stepped into the ruined entryway slowly. "I have nothing against you ladies in particular, but we have our orders."

"That's right," Roe lisped from off to his brother's side, sauntering forward and cracking his knuckles. "Are you two ready to fight?"

"Hold it!" Alita glanced nervously at Saika, and realized the girl didn't know how to fight at all. ("If we do an Adventurer's Duel she might be able to fight but can I really trust her to watch my back against two enemies?") She picked up her staff and gulped. ("Where are Flair and King? They couldn't have not heard that!")

-----------------------------------------

"What's the matter?" Aenpest asked casually, not a single scratch or blemish on his face or body. "Are we done already?" Meanwhile King was collapsed at his feet, groaning in pain.

"**Shadow Sword Style; Murder Under the Moonlight!**" Flair launched forward and slashed his sword through the Warlord's midsection, appearing on the other side of him and sheathing the blade swiftly.

"Impressive," Aenpest glanced behind him as the samurai collapsed in a puddle of his own blood. "Such a killing strike would have more than likely taken me down instantly…"

"A Graftborn…" Flair dragged himself towards the ladder slowly, reaching for it with bloody and twitching hands.

"That's correct. Replacement Doll is the name of my Wild Fusion." Aenpest turned and walked in front of the samurai, kicking his hand away casually. "With it any damage I sustain is instead dealt to the one who caused it. Both of your strikes would have beaten an ordinary opponent instantly, but against me they merely sealed your own demises." Turning and climbing down the ladder, he didn't look pleased about that. "I will make her death painless."

--------------------------------

"Are you ready, brother?" Boe held up his Carrier, flexing the mighty muscles of one of his arms.

"Let's show these ladies how beautiful our dueling styles are!" Roe's Carrier appeared and he mirrored his brother's action. "Are you two ladies ready?"

"We don't have a choice," Alita's Carrier appeared. "We'll take this challenge!"

"Yeah, she'll take the challenge!" Saika squeaked while hiding behind the blond-haired magician.

"YOU'RE FIGHTING TOO!" Alita roared at the other girl.

-----------------------------------

Jason perked his ears and yawned loudly. "And so that's the deal. Sorry, I'm not really a Beastman."

"Oh," Vanora looked more than a little disappointed. "Well it's okay, you really weren't strong enough to be considered a worthy mate anyway."

"Oi." Jason did a strange backhand slap in her direction and looked extremely cross; mirroring an action he had seen Flair do once.

"Anyway," Triple R interjected to prevent a bizarre comedy scene from unfolding. "If there is a Warlord on this train then this is serious business. Shouldn't you head back to your friends, Jason?"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Vanora grinned cheerfully. "The Boss is a really nice guy and doesn't like to resort to violence unless he has to. Since you guys seem to be gunning for Kyris the Hell and not him, he'll more than likely pass you by. So there's no need for any of that. Besides," She leaned in towards the ninja and whispered. "If this guy is their leader then we really don't have anything to fear."

"Oi!" Jason looked even more angry now, that strange backhand slap occurring again and hitting the back of Vanora's shoulder.

Triple R frowned through his mask. "Regardless, we should be careful. After all this Kyris the Hell, from what I've heard, is very resourceful. He might find a way to cause us some problems even from here."

"You're worrying way too much about it," Vanora winked and held up a finger. "If there's one thing you should know about my Boss, it's that he's a great guy with a really nice personality. He might even be willing to help you guys out too."

A knock came from the door. "Vanora, are you there?"

"See, there he is!" Standing up and straightening her hair with her nails, she danced over to the door and pulled it open while singing, "What can I do for you, Boss?"

The door opened onto Aenpest's cold expression of anger. "This isn't the time. It seems…" He stepped into the room and froze when he saw Jason and Triple R. "…"

Jason stared at the Warlord with wide eyes. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence he lifted his hand up and pointed at the man's face. "You've got a freakin' weird-lookin' face with that make-up on, dude."

"Kill them." Aenpest's expression didn't change. "Both of them. Jason Valerio, I apologize in advance for the deaths of your friends."

"What did you…" Jason's eyes widened as he was suddenly staring at a rapidly approaching white-blue flaming fist that went right into his face and stayed there, its flames burning straight into his brain.

---------------------------

Alita stumbled backwards and tried to keep herself from falling as another twirling ballerina-like move brought Roe's foot far too close for comfort. "Why are you attacking us?"

"Because Lord Aenpest has ordered it so," The twins said in unison grimly as they both skipped forward and did another duo ballet kick that was blocked by the mirror created by Saika, which cracked under the pressure but didn't break just yet.

-----------------------------

Triple R stood perfectly still, eyes bugged out of his head at the sight of Vanora plunging her flame-covered fist straight through Jason's head.

Aenpest frowned in extreme displeasure. ("This is for the best, it had to be done. With it, my connections to the Hell's line will be gone.")

Vanora's eyes were cold, having instantly recognized the seriousness of the order. In her heart though, she felt truly saddened. ("What did they do to make you order their deaths, boss? Was it that grave?") "I'm sorry Jason…"

"No problem," The Grafter said casually, her fist still phased into his face.

"Huh?" Vanora twitched at that. ("I must be hearing things.")

"After all, it's not your ass I've gotta kick." He leapt right past her, hair and arms a molten red, and punched Aenpest in the face full force. Then through his sneer he skidded backwards as he felt an equal amount of power strike his face.

"He's…" Vanora turned in slow motion, staring at Jason's back in amazement. ("He didn't even notice it…")

"So that's your trick," Jason wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth.

"Exactly," Aenpest said calmly, though deep down inside he wanted to express surprise at this development. ("Is this Graft of his immune to Vanora's flames?")

"Well then I guess hurting you is kind of out of the question." Jason popped his neck, completely ignoring the potential threat behind him in favor of the one standing before him. "That sucks too, cause I really want to pound your face in for saying my friends were dead. Trust me; they ain't even close to dead until I'm beaten."

"How can you be so confident?" Aenpest sighed in disappointment. "You don't even understand what Kyris the Hell has planned, do you? At this very moment, even if you beat me, it won't change anything. Alita Meijer's dream of saving her mother's kingdom will soon disappear."

"What?" Vanora's eyes widened in understanding. "You mean, what he was talking to you about those weeks ago…are you serious…"

"Yes." Aenpest looked disgusted with himself for even having a partial hand in such a plot. "That boy is truly not human, or else his conscience would have stopped him long ago. Evangela will soon change for the worse, as Kyris the Hell is even now moving with four of the other Warlords…to take over…" His fists clenched tighter and tighter, blood welling up in the center of his palms as his nails dug in deeper and deeper. "…Mudeia."

"…" Jason sighed sadly, his arms dropping to his sides. "I see. So that's the problem huh?"

--------------------------------

King stumbled to his feet and kicked Flair a couple of times. "Stand your stupid ass up. From the looks of it we've got to break down whoever is threatening the girls."

"You don't need to tell me stuff like that." The samurai forced himself to stand, his teeth clenched against each other.

----------------------------------

Alita and Saika screamed simultaneously as they were both kicked backwards into the wall of the cramped room.

As the blond-haired magician slid to the ground she forced herself to stand up, hands grasping her staff tightly. "I will fight…for my mother…for my homeland, and most of all…" An image of Jason sending Ruerto Masquil flying away flashed in her mind, followed by an image of the remains of Karot's Kingdom. "He…swore…that no matter…what would happen…with his help…" Her eyes hardened, determined.

"What can one boy do against the world?" The twins asked in unison, sick with their own actions but completely loyal to Lord Aenpest.

-----------------------------------

"Rick," Jason turned to glance at the ninja. "The Freaks Gang needs all of its members it can get. You want details…"

"Don't bother," Triple R muttered, standing up slowly with determination in his eyes. "I can smell a grand adventure standing before us. We may not be heroes, but we know what is right and what is wrong merely by scent. Your cause is the one of the just. It is bathed in a holy light that truly goes beyond merely revenge or something self-righteous." He nodded his agreement. "You, as always, have my great techniques in your arsenal."

Aenpest wondered what these two were talking about. "Are you both talking about me?"

Jason disappeared within a small pillar of fire as he reverted to normal, having no more need for Curse-Eater at the moment. "It might sound stupid to you, but you're of no consequence to me." He turned to look at both Vanora and the Warlord. "Neither of you. The only ones of importance are the ones you're trying to harm. My family…"

He smiled brightly. "It seems this entire world is extremely unfriendly towards Alita and the place she wants to protect. It's the kind of thing that…" His smile faded to a look of anger. "Really pisses me off."

"And what will you do about it?" Aenpest asked, suddenly feeling torn between the present and the past as his memory came forth with things he remembered far too clearly.

-------------------------

_Amidst the smoke caused by the destruction of the main gates of the courthouse, there stood a single man with a sneer on his face. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of Temarocia's top level, allow me to introduce myself."_

_The view was one of the man's back, the view that Aenpest had at that time when he was foolish and had forgotten his conscience._

"_This world of yours is far too boring for my taste," The man started to walk down the marble aisle, his shadowed face still sneering despite the fact that he was standing in the prescense of the most politically powerful men in all of Temarocia. "I come back and you've all established this order. Truly, it disgusts me to think you bastards would try to become peaceful."_

_He approached even closer, the guards in his path already cut down by the men who would one day become the Warlords. "The world moves on, and it tries to forget its past. Such a thing pains me so, and I cannot allow that to come to pass. I have to admit I'm not a fan of big speeches, so I suppose that's all I've got to say."_

"_You broke into the courthouse…you came all this way just to say that?" The shadowed form of a man standing behind the giant green crystal that symbolized Evangela yelled out, his white and grey blowing around him. "What did you expect to accomplish? What can you expect to do when your opponent is all of Temarocia?"_

_---------------------------_

For a moment, somehow, past and present became one. Jason stood at the center, the person who battled in the present. Alita stood to his right, the future ruler of Evangela. The shadowed form of the original Warlord of Hell stood to his left, the dark shadow of the hated past. They all opened their mouths together, in perfect unison.

"I will change the world!"

----------------------------

Aenpest tried to hide the fear he was feeling now, but it wouldn't go away, for behind Jason stood the phantom form of the original Warlord of Hell. The sweat dripping down his chin wouldn't disappear just because he willed it away. There was no way to deny the power of the words that had just left Jason's mouth. "You…can't be…"

The air around Jason started to shimmer. "You made a mistake announcing that little bit of information to me, freak-face." He punched the ground and kneeled, his eyes closed. "You are immune to damage, or some crap like that? We'll see just how immune you really are."

"No matter what kind of power you use, you won't be able to defeat me with force!" Aenpest steeled his resolve as well. If he was to be the villain in this then so be it. "Do you really expect that mere words will change the fact that Kyris the Hell has already begun his attack? There is no preventing him…"

"**Chimera…Double…**" Jason wasn't listening, not anymore. The time for words was at its end.

_To be continued…_

_And so the dreadful truth comes forth about Kyris' plan. Will Jason's sheer determination be enough to defeat an opponent that is unable to be harmed?_


End file.
